Wix Ltd. has filed a draft prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The filing confirms reports from three months ago that Wix was planning a Wall Street IPO. The company did not disclose financial details including sales and revenue, because the filing is confidential, and the date of the offering is not known but market sources believe Wix will seek to raise $75 million at a company value of $400 million. The SEC will have to review the documents before the company makes a final decision. JPMorgan Securities LLC will be the lead underwriter.
Wix, founded in 2006 by CEO Avishai Abrahami, his brother, Nadav, who serves as VP R&D, and CTO Giora Kaplan, has developed an online platform for people to quickly and easily create their own websites. The company has raised $66 million to date.
Wix's success has resulted in one million new users each month. Altogether, 28 million people have used its services and created 26 million websites. The company's revenue rose 60% to $40 million in 2012 from $25 million in 2009. It has 400 employees, mostly at its headquarters at the Tel Aviv Port.
Wix's business model is based on payments from users for its various premium services, such as larger storage space or options to add sale elements on websites. Users can choose among hundreds of website templates, and choose the colors, size, and other features as they see fit.
Wix is considered one of Israel's most promising start-ups. It has had steady growth alongside Conduit Ltd., Outbrain Ltd., and Kaltura Ltd., all of which were founded in 2005-06. In 2010, "Globes" named Wix as one of Israel's most promising start-ups, and earlier this year, "Business Insider" ranked it 65th in its Digital 100 list of the world's 100 most valuable private tech companies, alongside companies such as Twitter and Dropbox.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 4, 2013
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