JPMorgan In Talks To Lead Lyft’s IPO

JPMorgan Chase is reportedly in discussions with Lyft about being the lead banker on its pending initial public offering (IPO).

CNBC, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that JPMorgan is seen as in the lead to be the underwriter after Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley opted not to go after the Lyft IPO, as they are working with Uber Technologies about its potential IPO. Sources told CNBC that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have helped Uber raise money and are battling to land the top roles in that IPO.

The report said that Lyft has hired Class V Group, the IPO advisory firm, and is looking at launching an IPO at some point next year. Uber is also looking to file its IPO in 2019, but is further behind in its preparations. Other investment banks are expected to work with JPMorgan as underwriters for the Lyft IPO.

Lyft is gearing up to interview investment banks in October as it puts together the underwriters for the IPO, sources told CNBC, noting that no roles have been formally given to any investment banks yet.

In May, Lyft said its internal market share numbers show that it now has 35 percent of the national ridesharing market, up from 20 percent 18 months prior. The company also noted that its market share is over 40 percent in 16 U.S. markets and that it has a majority share in “multiple” markets.

“The last 18 months have been a period of incredible, sustained growth for Lyft,” CFO Brian Roberts said, according to CNBC at the time. “There are no signs of that momentum slowing down.” A source said Lyft used email receipt data to calculate its market share data, which is usually taken from third-party credit card data firms, such as Second Measure and Certify. As of March, Second Measure put Lyft’s market share at 27 percent and Uber’s at 73 percent, while Certify found Lyft had 19 percent of the market in the first quarter versus Uber’s 81 percent.

While Uber doesn’t disclose market share data, a source said the company’s internal metrics show it with 70 to 72 percent of the U.S. ridesharing market, which would leave Lyft at 28 to 30 percent. The same source claims Lyft stopped gaining market share over the last six months.