Via Transportation in last stretch to NYSE listing
Via Transportation’s long road to the public equity markets is entering the last stretch with the launch on Wednesday of its US$471.4m NYSE IPO, an offering that will provide a significant test of investor appetite for software offerings.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Allen & Co and Wells Fargo are joint bookrunners atop a 12-strong syndicate of banks marketing 10.7m shares in a US$40–$44 range for pricing after the market close on Thursday September 11.
Helping ease the lift, Wellington Management committed upfront to invest US$100m on the offering, the long-only asset manager’s second anchor order on the current crop of IPOs following a US$30m pledge made to Black Rock Coffee Bar’s US$310m Nasdaq IPO.
Via, which started out as a ride-hailing company but transitioned in 2021 to logistical software used by municipalities and universities to manage transportation, is selling 7.1m shares on the offering. The other 3.6m shares are being sold by management led by CEO Daniel Ramot as well as venture backers Pitango Venture Capital and Hearst Communications.
While a software company, Via is still losing money. In the trailing 12 months ended June 30, it posted negative US$40.5m of adjusted Ebitda on revenues of US$380.8m, growing the topline at a 26.5% clip in the first half to US$205.8m. Annual run-rate revenues as of June 30 grew by 34.5% to US$429m.
At the midpoint of the marketing range, Via is targeting a market capitalisation and enterprise value of US$3.8bn and US$3.5bn. That values it at 6.6 times EV-to-revenue for 2026, implying revenues grow to US$530m next year.
ServiceTitan, the construction services software provider that went public in December 2024, trades at 8.6 times forward revenues and Guidewire Software at roughly 12 times, according to LSEG data.
Via, which counts New York City’s MTA and Harvard University as clients, is increasing cash levels on the offering to US$361.6m, providing it with a lengthy runway towards profitability.
At a US$3.8bn equity value, it is slightly above the US$3.5bn valuation Via got from a US$100m funding round in February 2023.
Exor, the investment arm of the Italian Agnelli family and Via’s largest shareholder with an 18.7% stake, is not selling shares in the IPO, possibly hoping for more upside. VC firm 83North, which led the 2023 round, is also keeping its 8.3% stake.