Restaurant-software provider Toast is preparing an IPO that could value it at around $20 billion, report says

• Restaurant management firm Toast is preparing for a stock market debut that could value it at $20 billion.
• The company could also consider a sale, or a merger, with a blank-check company, the WSJ said.
• Toast has tapped Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to underwrite a potential stock-market listing this year.

Toast Inc, a cloud-based restaurant-software provider, is planning an initial public offering that could value the firm at around $20 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The 10-year-old company could examine other options such as a sale, or merger with a blank-check company, but there are no certainties, the WSJ said. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were approached to underwrite the firm's possible listing later this year.

Boston-based Toast supplies restaurants with payment management and a point-of-sale service built on the Android operating system. Its products also include payroll processing, e-mail marketing, and loans to customers via Toast Capital.

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Toast raised $400 million in a funding round led by private equity groups including TPG and Tiger Global Management, according to Reuters. But the company was hammered by the impact of the pandemic, having to reduce its workforce by about 50% through layoffs and furloughs, as restaurant sales dropped 80%. By mid-2020, its business saw a rebound with new demand for its products, as restaurants switched to take-out services during harsh lockdowns.

Toast was founded in 2011 by Aman Narang, Jon Grimm, and Steve Fredette in Aman's basement.