What just happened? Slack’s first day on the New York Stock Exchange is going swimmingly. The collaborative software company that provides an enterprise-based chat platform for working professionals saw its share value surge 48.5 percent in its first day of trading.
Notably, the company – trading under the symbol WORK – opted for a direct listing rather than a traditional IPO. In this manner, a company doesn’t hire an underwriter or sell new shares to raise money, but rather, they simply list existing shares.
Shares reached a high of $41.97 around noon but have tapered off slightly since. As of wiring, the stock is trading just south of $39 after opening with a reference price of $26. According to The New York Times, the stock’s performance gave Slack a fully diluted valuation of $23.1 billion.
Slack is the latest tech player to try the public waters, joining Uber, Lyft, Pinterest and others. Some have floundered, others have flourished; it’ll be a matter of time before we know how investors truly feel about Slack’s prospects in the open market.
All we know for certain is that Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield and others are now newly minted billionaires. Congrats!
Masthead credit: Slack Technologies Initial Public Offering by Evan El-Amin
https://www.techspot.com/news/80607-slack-shares-surge-successful-stock-market-debut.html
