Setting a reference price means that the company is allowed to start trading. A price of $45 a share would mean that the company has a market value of $30 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing an unnamed source.
Roblox, based in San Mateo, California, originally planned to go public via a traditional initial public offering (IPO), according to Bloomberg, but instead has taken this route.
Like with other direct listings, the company won’t issue new shares at a set price. Current investors instead can sell shares on demand when trading opens.
Direct listings have not been plentiful, Bloomberg reported. Some of the notable ones have included Peter Thiel’s Palantir Technologies; Asana, a software company; popular music streaming service Spotify in 2018; and Slack Technologies in 2019.
According to Bloomberg, Roblox has seen a bountiful increase in revenues amid the pandemic, as people looked for distractions to help cope with being stuck inside. The company’s valuation sat at $4 billion as of a funding round from February 2020, which netted $150 million.
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Roblox will be advised by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg reported, and although companies doing direct listings don’t have banks underwriting shares like they do in a regular IPO, they still offer advisory services.
Roblox Founder and CEO David Baszucki said he wants to see the company become more than just a gaming platform. He said he wants to make a broader platform to help promote live events and foster education. He said concerts are “naturally something we do together,” and they’re meant to be experienced that way. Roblox hosted rapper Lil Nas X at a virtual show, which garnered over 30 million views.
