The Year of the IPO (Whether You Like It or Not)
A glut of listings will force second-tier startups to go public, or else they might miss their chance.
Where to? The Nasdaq, please.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
This looks poised to be a big year for initial public offerings, with Lyft looking to go public later this month. Private tech companies have spent most of the decade saying that staying private was preferable, so why the change of heart now? It might be because they suddenly feel that they have to.
As much as private tech companies say they’ll go public on their own timetable, cycles are cycles, and there are reasons some periods see more IPOs than others. Lyft is a great example: It’s very similar to Uber, also set to go public soon, and the behavior of one influences the other.