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Boston-based digital marketing platform Semrush is targeting an IPO size of between $235 and $268.8 million as it finalises its New York listing.
The company – which counts Tesla, Walmart, Marriot, IBM and Nike among its clients – offers advanced solutions for SEO, PPC, content, social media and competitive research to help its clients break through the information barrier and reach the right audience through the right channels.
Parent company Semrush Holdings Inc, filed an updated prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 16 March, as reported by Forbes. According to the document, the company intends to offer investors 16.8 million class A shares at a price of $14 to $16 per share, implying a market capitalisation of roughly $2.14 billion.
Earlier this month, the company registered plans to go public.
CEO and co-founder Oleg Shchegolev founded Semrush in 2008 with his childhood friend Dmitry Melnikov, who is now COO. According to the prospectus, the pair respectively own 45.7% and 22.9% of SEMrush Holdings Inc.’s class B shares (each denoting ten votes). During the initial offering, each of the founders will sell 900,000 securities, which will be converted into class A shares. A further 15 million class A shares will be issued by the Company itself. According to the prospectus, following a successful IPO, Shchegolev’s voting share will drop to 45% and Melnikov’s to 22%. Overall, the entire Semrush management will retain 70% of the votes.
The provider of digital marketing software posted $124.9 million in revenue last year, up 36% on the previous year. At the end of 2020, Semrush had 67,000 paying subscribers and most of its revenue (46%) came from US customers. In Sept of 2020, Semrush acquired public relations SaaS startup Prowly.com. Prowly’s previous investors include IQ Partners, Internet Ventures (an MCI Capital subsidiary), and online marketing agency Bluerank.
With offices in the United States, Europe and Russia, the company has a total of over 980 employees, 177 of whom are based in Semrush’s US headquarters. In the past, the company has raised funding from investors including Greycroft and Siguler Guff.
The joint bookrunners on the deal are Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Jefferies and KeyBanc Capital Markets.
