UPDATE: Smartsheet stock popped on its public debut, opening at $18.40, a 22 percent rise over its offering price of $15.
Smartsheet raised $150 million in its initial public offering, setting shares above its expected range at $15, showing that Wall Street is excited to get a piece of the Bellevue, Wash. work management company.
Earlier this week, Smartsheet boosted the anticipated stock price range for its IPO to $12 to $14 per share, up from $10 to $12 per share. The Seattle-area company helps Fortune 500 customers manage and automate key work processes — including the ability of employees to collaborate on projects across sales, marketing, HR and other corporate functions — will debut on the New York Stock Exchange Friday morning under the ticker symbol SMAR. The company will sell 10 million shares of Class A stock.
Smartsheet is one of three Washington state companies to go public this week alone. Joining Smartsheet on the public markets on Friday will be digital signature company DocuSign. In its first day as a public company, Vancouver, Wash.-based semiconductor laser manufacturer nLight saw its stock soar 68 percent.
Smartsheet is growing fast, but it is unprofitable. The company, which claims more than 92,000 customers, reported revenue for the period ending Jan. 31, 2018 of $111 million. For that same period, the company lost $49.1 million, and to date has accumulated a deficit of $106.6 million, writing in its IPO filing that it expects losses to continue for the “foreseeable future” as it invests in marketing, R&D and other corporate expenses.
Smartsheet employs 847 people — up from 463 in January 2017 — across three offices in Seattle, Boston, and Edinburgh, where Smartsheet planted a flag after making its first acquisition ever this past January, swooping up chatbot startup Converse.AI.
Started in 2005 by former Onyx CEO Brent Frei, Smartsheet has raised more than $120 million to date; its most recent funding round was a $52 million investment last year led by Insight Venture Partners that valued the company at $852 million.
Smartsheet’s backers include Insight Ventures, which holds a 32 percent stake, and Madrona Venture Group, which holds a 28 percent stake. Frei retains an 8.8 percent stake, while CEO Mark Mader holds 2.3 percent.
Editor’s note: Smartsheet is a GeekWire annual sponsor.
