The share price of Israeli gig economy platform Fiverr (NYSE: FVRR) rose 90% to $39.90 on the company's first day of trading on Wall Street. Fiverr completed its IPO today, raising $110 million at a valuation of $650 million. The company floated 17% of its share capital. The amount raised in the IPO is in addition to $170 million that Fiverr raised on the private market in the course of its years of activity.
Fiverr apparently received positive indications during its road show, since it decided to make the offering at $21 per share, higher than the $18-20 range at which it had been aiming.
Fiverr was founded in 2014 by CEO Micha Kaufman and Shai Wininger (who has since left to set up digital insurance startup Lemonade). Until recently Wininger still sat on Fiverr's board of directors and he is in New York today for the IPO. Kaufman is expected to become Fiverr's chairman after the IPO, subject to shareholders' agreement.
Last week, Fiverr published the list of its current shareholders. The founders Kaufman and Wininger hold 7.7% and 5.7% ($50 and $37 million) respectively. Bessemer Venture Partners holds 12.4% ($80 million) and Accel holds 10% ($65 million), Square Peg 9.1% ($61 million), and Qumra 5.8% ($38 million). Angel investor Jonathan Kolber holds 13.2% ($86 million) and Guy Gimzo 4.3% ($28 million).
Fiverr has developed an online platform in which freelancers offer services in more than 200 categories in the gig economy, among them graphic design, marketing and communications, writing, translation, copywriting, and software development. No single category contributes more than 15% of Fiverr's revenue. At first, all services via Fiverr were offered for $5. Later, freelancers were enabled to offer services at higher prices. Fiverr receives a fee for each deal, from both the service provider and service buyers.
According to the prospectus, Fiverr's revenue is growing at a rate of more than 40% annually, and revenue in the first quarter of 2019 was $24 million, up 42% from the corresponding quarter of 2018. Revenue in 2018 was $75.5 million, up 45% from 2017.
The company is not yet profitable and lost $36 million in 2018. In the first quarter of 2019, Fiverr lost $5.4 million.
Fiverr is represented by Advs. Shachar Hadar, Itay Frishman, Miri Shalit and Elad Ziv from the Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal law firm.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 13, 2019
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