Lyft valued at $24bn ahead of share market debut

Ride-hailing firm Lyft has priced its shares at $72 amid strong investor demand, valuing the firm at $24.3bn (£18.6bn).

Lyft’s shares are set to start trading on the tech-dominated Nasdaq index on Friday.

The strong valuation makes it the largest company to go public since China’s Alibaba Group in 2014.

Lyft’s main rival, Uber, is also expected to float this year.

Pinterest, Slack, and Postmates are also scheduled to make their market debuts this year.

Top of range

Earlier in the week, Lyft increased the indicative price range for its share offer to $70-$72 a share, up from $62-$68 previously.

Lyft was launched in 2012 by technology entrepreneurs John Zimmer and Logan Green, three years after Uber was founded.

It remains the smaller company, with a limited international presence. Uber is expected to be valued at about $120bn when it goes public.

However, Lyft’s profile has risen over the last few years, as its larger rival was hit by controversy surrounding its aggressive corporate culture and data collection practices.

Lyft now accounts for about 39% of the ride-share market in the US, up from about 22% in 2016, the company says.

Lyft’s revenues doubled in 2018 to reach $2.2bn, compared with $1.1bn in 2017, according to its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

However, its losses also increased. The company lost $911m in 2018, up from $688m in 2017.