YETI – $288 million
Yeti, the premium-cooler company beloved by college fraternities across the country raised close to $288 million earlier this week in its IPO. The company, which measures its coolers by how many “cans” they can hold, priced 16 million shares at $18 each, slightly below the expected $19 – $21 range, per CNBC.
According to Yeti’s most recent SEC filing, the company had a rough 2017, with revenue dropping to just more than $639 million from close to $819 million the year before. This year the company seems to be back on track to grow its revenues, and contrary to the swath of tech companies going public, Yeti is profitable.
My thoughts: As a lifestyle brand, Yeti has an incredibly loyal customer base. If you can can attract college students at a +$200 price point, you’ve got a pretty good business going (Yeti’s entry-level cooler costs $199.99, and the most expensive model is $1,299.99). But, it still remains to be seen if Yeti can avoid its customer base aging out of the brand.
According to CNBC, Yeti is trading at just under $16 in early-morning trading.
LoveSac – $56 million
The modular furniture designer LoveSac raised about $56 million in a better than expected public offering this week. Shares were priced at $16, a bit above the initial range of $13 to $15. The company is known for creating “Sactionals,” a rearrangeable system of individual couches. It also sells premium bean bag chairs in a variety of sizes.
According to its S-1 filing, the company wasn’t profitable in 2016 or 2017 and the majority of its revenue came from its 77 showrooms. LoveSac also plans to open an additional 15 showrooms in FY2019, bucking the trend of brick and mortar retailers closing stores (the company is shutting down five underperforming stores, but that still leaves a net gain of 10 stores, which is impressive).
My thoughts: LoveSac’s core product is a tough sell online — but it still seems to be growing its internet business. The future of physical retail is smaller and more experiential spaces, and LoveSac’s showroom model fits that trend.
According to MarketWatch, LoveSac is up almost 2 percent to $18.17 in early-morning trading.
FinTech Acquisition Corp III
Bancorp founder Betsy Cohen and Chairman Daniel Cohen are back with another blank check company, FinTech Acquisition Corp III, in an attempt to raise a $275 million IPO to acquire or merge with a financial technology company, per an SEC filing.
FinTech Acquisition Corp II raised $175 million in January 2017 through an IPO and eventually merged with Intermex, a wire transfer and financial solutions provider in July 2018. The group’s first blank check company, FinTech Acquisition Corp, raised $100 million in February 2015 and acquired FTS Holding Corporation in July 2016.
My thoughts: Investing in a blank check company is investing in the management teams ability to spot a profitable business opportunity. It’s more like investing in people than a business.
Business, technology, startups and venture capital 