Reuters: IPOX® CEO Josef Schuster Comments on Liftoff’s Scaled-Back U.S. IPO

Reuters reported that Blackstone-backed Liftoff Mobile is targeting a valuation of up to $3.66 billion in its renewed U.S. IPO. The Redwood City, California-based company is seeking to raise up to $418 million by offering 19 million shares priced between $20 and $22 each, a reduced target compared with its previous IPO attempt.

IPOX® CEO Josef Schuster was quoted on the significance of Liftoff’s renewed effort, noting that a successful listing could help reopen the path for similar software-focused companies. The article also highlighted how Liftoff’s offering may test investor appetite for software listings after valuation concerns tied to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and broader market volatility.

Liftoff, formed through Blackstone’s 2021 combination of Liftoff and Vungle, provides marketing and monetization tools for mobile app developers. Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Morgan Stanley are joint lead book-running managers for the offering, and Liftoff plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker “LFTO.”

“If the firm is able to successfully pursue the IPO, it should pave the way for similar firms to go to market.”

“It may also mean that the current bullishness and strong risk appetite for IPOs altogether outweighs the potential negativity around the valuation matrices for software stocks, which have been impacted so much by the fear over AI.”

Read the full article by Utkarsh Shetti and Prakhar Srivastava on Reuters: Blackstone-backed Liftoff targets $3.7 billion valuation in US IPO