The web hosting company priced its 22 million-share initial public offering at $20 per share on Tuesday night, above the expected range of $17-$19.
At this price, the company is set to raise $440 million and will be valued at around $4.5 billion.
On Tuesday, we highlighted commentary from Briefing.com's Dennis Hobein, who noted that the 18-year-old company known for its commercials is unprofitable and has a mountain of debt,
Hobein wrote:
It may come as a surprise to some to learn that the company has actually been around for 18 years. In fact, this isn't its first attempt at becoming a publicly traded company. Back in 2006, GDDY was looking to launch an IPO, but, the company cited poor market conditions at the time. Since then, the company has gone through a shake-up in management in 2011 with the CEO stepping down, followed by private equity firms acquiring the company for $2.25 billion.
So, the company certainly has some history -- and some scars -- but because of the highly-recognizable name, and its strong positioning in the internet domain name registration market, its IPO should find some interest among institutional investors.
Hobein added that overall the company's valuation at around $18 per share (his article was posted before the IPO priced) is attractive, and that the IPO should easy enough for the market to "soak up."
Keep it here throughout the day on Wednesday as we'll have running coverage as GoDaddy shares hit the market for the first time.