In a sign of continued strength for late-stage, VC-backed tech and Internet companies, Pandora Media boosted the number of shares it is offering along with their price.
Today, Pandora said in an amended filing it will now sell14.68 million shares at $10 to $12 each. This is up from the 13.68 million shares at $7 to $9 each that Pandora previously planned to offer. At $11 share, the mid-point of the IPO price range, Pandora could raise $161.5 million.
Pandora is expected to price its IPO on June 154 and trade the next day, a source says.
Morgan Stanley is lead bookrunner on the deal. Morgan Stanley is also lead bookrunner for Groupon’s pending offering and also led LinkedIn’s rousing IPO. Other underwriters for Pandora include JP Morgan, Citi, William Blair & Co., Stifel Nicolaus Weisel and Wells Fargo Securities. The underwriters have the option to buy an additional 2.2 million shares.
Oakland, Calif.-based Pandora provides Internet-based radio services that allows users to discover new music by using so-called music DNA software and other user preferences, according to Marketwatch.
The company itself is selling 6 million shares while selling stockholders are offering about 8.7 million shares. Pandora is expected to trade on the NYSE under the ticker “P.”
Pandora has raised about $65 million in venture capital since its founding in 2000, according to Thomson Reuters (publisher of peHUB). The Hearst Corp. and five VCs own about 75% of Pandora prior the IPO. This will fall to roughly 69% after the offering.
Of the group, only Hearst is selling shares. Hearst is offering 4.4 million shares and could realize $48.4 million (at $11 a share). The company’s remaining stake (4.37 million shares or 2.7%) could be worth $48 million.
The VCs collectively will own about 105.6 million shares, valued at roughly $1.16 billion. This stakes were previously worth $951 million, according to my co-workers at Thomson Reuters.
Crosslink Capital has the largest stake in Pandora. After the IPO, it will hold about 35 million shares, or roughly 22%. At $11 share, the stake is valued at $385 million. Walden Venture Capital owns 28.5 million shares or 17.82%. Their stake is worth $313.5 million. Greylock Partners owns 21.45 million shares, or 13.43%, that is valued at about $236 million. Labrador Ventures has 12.9 million shares or about 8.1%, valued at $141 million.
And GGV Capital holds about 7.85 million shares or roughly 5%. This is worth $86.4 million.
