DoorDash is aiming high with an opening share price of $102, valuing the food delivery startup at $38.7 billion (€32bn) overall for its stock market debut on Wednesday, according to US media reports.
The initial public offering price reported by CNBC and the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, is above the range that the popular food delivery startup had previously set for its initial public offering of shares.
DoorDash would be valued at $32.4 billion based on outstanding common stock alone, not adding in private stakes being held by insiders. That is still more than double the $16 billion that DoorDash was deemed worth during a private funding round in June.
DoorDash would be valued at $32.4bn based on outstanding common stock alone, more than double the $16bn it was deemed worth during a private funding round in June
San Francisco-based DoorDash is out to raise more than $3 billion with the share offering.
Delivery of meals and groceries has boomed during the pandemic, with restaurants offering no or limited dine-in options and people fearful of exposure to COVID-19.
DoorDash, which competes with GrubHub and Uber Eats, operates a leading online platform connecting people ordering food with those willing to deliver it.
DoorDash is on track to take in some $2 billion in revenue this year on growing demand during the pandemic, the food delivery startup said in a prior filing.
The startup reported losses totaling $149 million in the first nine months of 2020 on revenues of $1.9 billion as sales more than tripled from the prior year.
"We have a history of net losses, we anticipate increasing expenses in the future," the company said in a filing. "We have expended and expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on developing our platform... expanding into new markets and geographies, and increasing our sales and marketing efforts."
The startup boasts having more than a million delivery people, referred to as "Dashers," and more than 18 million customers.
DoorDash has said surveys showed that as of October it had a 50 per cent share of the US meal delivery market, and was twice as large as its nearest competitor, Uber Eats.
DoorDash co-founder and chief executive Tony Xu said in a filing that the startup fulfills the American dream for his family, which came to the US from China when he was five years old.
The company will make its debut on Wall Street on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol DASH with the opening bell on Wednesday.
DoorDash has followed in the footsteps of other tech startups regarding company governance, offering an assortment of share types that will result in co-founder Xu maintaining control.