CrowdStrike raises US$612m amid IPO tech rush

Hong Kong

SOFTWARE maker CrowdStrike Holdings Inc has raised US$612 million in one of the biggest-ever initial public offerings for a cybersecurity company.

CrowdStrike sold 18 million shares on Tuesday at US$34 each, above its already elevated target range, the company said in a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg. The Sunnyvale, California-based company had marketed the shares for US$28 to US$30, a target range it had earlier raised from US$19 to US$23.

The offering values the company at more than US$6.6 billion based on the shares outstanding as listed in its filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That's more than double the US$3 billion valuation last June when it raised about US$200 million in a private funding round.

Founded in 2011 by former McAfee Inc executives, CrowdStrike makes software to protect clients from cyberattacks, including predicting and detecting potential hacks. Its clients include Amazon.com Inc and HSBC Holdings Plc, according to its filings.

Like many of the crop of tech IPO hopefuls, CrowdStrike is unprofitable. It reported a net loss of US$140 million on revenue of US$250 million for the year ended Jan 31, compared with a net loss of US$135 million on revenue of US$119 million in the same period a year earlier, its filings with the SEC show.

Uber Technologies Inc's US$8.1 billion offering is the year's biggest, followed by smaller ride-hailing rival Lyft Inc's US$2.34 billion IPO as well as the US$2.9 billion listing by Avantor Inc, a chemical maker for the life sciences industry. Other tech-related listings this year have included Pinterest Inc and Zoom Video Communications Inc. So far, the results have been mixed for investors - while Lyft has crashed 19 per cent from its offer price, Zoom Video remains the fourth-best performing US IPO of 2019, with its shares up 183 per cent.

Slack Technologies Inc is set to go public next week in an unusual direct listing. Other tech-related companies considering IPOs include Peloton Interactive Inc, Postmates Inc as well as WeWork Cos.

CrowdStrike has said that it had raised US$200 million in a funding round led by General Atlantic, Accel and IVP that valued the business at more than US$3 billion. Alphabet Inc's growth equity arm CapitalG also took part in the fundraising. The company has raised more than US$450 million since its founding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Because CrowdStrike's Class B stock carry 10 votes per share compared to one each for Class A shares, executives, directors and current investors will control about 75 per cent of the voting rights of the company after the IPO, according to the filing.

CrowdStrike's IPO was led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp and Barclays Plc. The company's shares are expected to begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CRWD. BLOOMBERG