Etsy raises $267m in IPO ahead of Nasdaq debut

LONDON (ShareCast) - Etsy, the online marketplace for vintage and handmade goods, made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, pricing its shares at $16 each. In its initial public offering, the company raised approximately $267m after selling 16.7m shares, giving it a valuation of $1.8bn.

According to regulatory filing, the New York-based group, which had 1.4m active sellers and 19.8m active buyers at the end of 2014, planned to sell the shares at a price of between $14 and $16 each.

The company set up a programme to give small investors the chance to buy as much as $2,500 worth of stock in its IPO, while it concentrated the shares among a smaller number of institutional investors than is normal in IPOs.

According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, the decision frustrated a number of fund managers.

Institutional investors, including hedge funds and mutual funds, will be sold approximately 85% of the shares, with the remaining 15% set to be offered to smaller investors.

Etsy, which will begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Thursday, has suffered losses in the past three years but revenue jumped 56% in 2014.