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Slack Technologies Shares Extend Gain After First-Day Pop

Slack shunned the traditional initial public offering route, and instead directly listed its shares on the NYSE.

Slack Technologies Shares Extend Gain After First-Day Pop
The Slack Technologies Inc. logo is displayed on an Apple Inc. iPhone in an arranged photograph taken in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Slack Technologies Inc. shares rose as much as 4.2% on Friday in their second day of trading.

The maker of software for workers to chat and collaborate on projects traded as high as $40.25 in New York. In Thursday’s debut, the stock opened at $38.50, well above the reference price of $26.

Slack shunned the traditional initial public offering route, and instead directly listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, allowing shareholders to sell right away without a lockup period. The company chose not to have a traditional IPO for a pragmatic reason: It didn’t need the cash, Slack Chief Executive Officer Stewart Butterfield said Thursday.

Bloomberg Beta, the venture capital arm of Bloomberg LP, is an investor in Slack.

To contact the reporter on this story: Janet Freund in New York at jfreund11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net

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