(Reuters) – Shares of Sequoia-backed startup Unity Software Inc jumped 44.2% in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, signaling a sustained demand for new stocks.
The company’s stock opened at $75 per share, giving the firm a market value of $19.76 billion.
The Silicon Valley startup on Thursday raised $1.3 billion in its IPO, after pricing 25 million shares at $52 apiece, much above its upwardly revised price range of $44 to $48 per share.
It is the second $1 billion-plus U.S. software IPO this week to price above the targeted range after data warehouse company Snowflake Inc raised more than $3 billion in the largest U.S. listing so far this year.
For Unity’s IPO, the lead underwriting banks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Credit Suisse Group, used an online system to take indications of interest from investors, with the aim of getting a more accurate gauge of demand.
Orders for an IPO are typically made over the phone.
Unity’s software platform is widely used by game developers, artists, architects and filmmakers to create, run and monetize interactive 3D content.
Investment firm Sequoia Capital is Unity’s largest shareholder with a 24.1% stake, while private equity company Silver Lake holds an 18.2% stake, according to a filing. (https://bit.ly/2RmJZFD)
(Reporting by C Nivedita in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Niket Nishant; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
