Roblox, the child-friendly gaming company, filed to go public. Revenue in the third quarter jumped 91 per cent from a year ago to $242.2 million, Roblox said in the filing. Its net loss more than doubled to $48 million. Roblox’s platform contains millions of games that can be played across Apple, Google and Amazon devices as well as consoles.
Airbnb, DoorDash and online lender Affirm have also filed to go public in the past week, taking advantage of a post-election rally in the US stocks and investor demand for high-growth tech names. The companies are trying to hit the market in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, people familiar with their plans told CNBC last week. Roblox filed confidentially to go public in mid-October, but its numbers were unreleased until today when it published its S-1 document.
Roblox Corporation (“Roblox”) announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to a proposed initial public offering of shares of its Class A common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether, or when, the offering may be contemplated or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. Roblox intends to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RBLX.”
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan will act as joint lead book-running managers for the offering. Allen & Company, BofA Securities and RBC Capital Markets will act as book-running managers.
The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained from Goldman Sachs , Prospectus Department.
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor offer to buy may be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.
The company is not the first gaming platform company to go public this year, with gaming engine Unity debuting earlier this year. After its IPO, Unity shares have rocketed, perhaps preparing the public markets for Roblox’s own debut.