Software Firm Freshworks Considers Pricing IPO at $36 a Share

22 Sep 2021, 09:58 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Freshworks Inc. raised about $1 billion in an initial public offering, pricing the shares above a marketed range it already elevated earlier this week.

The company sold 28.5 million shares Tuesday for $36 each after marketing them for $32 to $34, according to a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. In what was already set to be one of the largest IPOs on a U.S. exchange this week, Freshworks on Monday lifted the planned range from $28 to $32.

At $36 a share, Freshworks has a market value of $10 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accounting for employee stock options and restricted stock units, the company would have a fully diluted value of more than $11 billion.

The potential competitor to far larger Salesforce.com Inc. was valued at $3.5 billion in a 2019 funding round.

Freshworks boosted revenue about 40% last year after the coronavirus pandemic prompted businesses to go digital, and sales continue to grow in the first half of 2021 while its net loss shrank.

Now with 52,500 customers, the company saw its revenue grow in the first six months of this year to $169 million, up from $110 million in the first half of 2020. Its net loss shrank to $9.8 million from $57 million from a year ago, according to its filings.

Freshworks was founded in India and moved to Silicon Valley to be closer to customers. Now based in San Mateo, California, the company retains a substantial workforce in the southern Indian city of Chennai. In its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, founder Girish Mathrubootham likened Freshworks software to the iPhone, saying businesses shouldn’t have to rely on multiple tools to engage with customers.

Affiliates of Accel India and others of Tiger Global Management each control more than a quarter of the company’s Class B shares.

The IPO is being led by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. Freshworks shares are expected to begin trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol FRSH.