Lyft files for $100 million IPO

Lyft has filed for an initial public offering that would raise $100 million, according to securities filings.

The ride-hailing company would be traded under the ticker “LIFT,” and is seeking to create a dual-class stock structure that would concentrate voting power in the company’s founders, Logan Green and John Zimmer. This is a popular structure among other Silicon Valley companies, including Alphabet, Facebook and Snap.

The company said its revenue grew from $343.3 million in 2016 to $1.1 billion in 2017 and $2.2 billion in 2018, a year-over-year growth rate of 209 percent and 103 percent, respectively. Its losses also grew, from $682 million in 2016 to $911 million last year.

Like its larger competitor, Uber, Lyft has never been profitable. It is the subject of several lawsuits from drivers and the state of California over its treatment of drivers, who the company maintains are not employees. Lyft and Juno, a smaller ride-hailing company, are also suing New York City imposition of a minimum pay standard for drivers last year. New York has also imposed a temporary cap on new licenses for ride-hail drivers.

The entire company could be valued at $20 billion to $25 billion, Reuters previously reported. It was valued at $15 billion earlier last year.

Some small portion of that money could go to drivers through the IPO. The company said it would give cash bonuses that could be converted into stock to drivers who have a minimum level of activity on the platform. Drivers with more than 20,000 rides would receive $10,000; drivers with at least 10,000 rides or who serve on Lyft’s driver advisory council would get $1,000.

It’s not clear how many Lyft drivers would be eligible for the bonus. A survey by a popular ride-hail blog last year found that the average Lyft driver has completed just under 2,000 lifetime trips with the app.

Uber and Lyft filed confidentially for an IPO in December, but did not disclose financial details at the time.