In a bumper week for tech IPOs, Unity Software is seeking to raise more than $1 billion with an offering that departs from the traditional model.
The company, which provides software for developing 3D videogames, revised its IPO prospectus on Wednesday, raising the expected pricing to a range of $44 to $48 per share from $34 to $42 per share.
At the high point of $48 per share, the IPO would raise $1.2 billion and value Unity at up to $12.64 billion.
But in an unusual move, Unity CEO John Riccitiello has decided that the company’s upper management, rather than its investment bankers, will determine the actual price, using an online bidding system.
Unity is hoping to avoid a first-day pop that would enrich its bankers and their customers at the expense of existing shareholders, according to CNBC.
The stock is expected to make its public debut on Friday. “Unity raising its price range for its IPO is not a surprise, given that software companies have been on a strong run lately,” TechCrunch said, noting that JFrog and Snowflake made similar moves on Wednesday.
“There’s plenty of demand for growth-oriented software equities on today’s public markets,” the publication added. “And Unity has what investors are generally looking for inside that sector: greater than 40% revenue growth, gross margins in the high-70s to low-80s, and falling losses in both percent-of-revenue and gross dollar terms.”
Revenue in the first half of the year rose 39% from a year earlier to $351.3 million as the number of customers spending $100,000 or more increased to 716 from 515.
As its IPO pricing mechanism, Unity is asking institutional investors what price they’re willing to pay and how many shares they wish to purchase. Once the bids have all been tabulated, management will determine a price and allocate the available shares among institutional investors who bid above the final price.
“Still, the stock could pop out of the gate when the wider universe of retail investors are able to get in on the action for the first time,” CNBC said.