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It’s only May and the LA tech community has already seen its second IPO of the year with TrueCar’s debut on NASDAQ Friday. That’s a great improvement over the grand total of zero IPOs coming from LA tech companies in 2013.
"Having more IPOs is an indication of a maturing eco-systems," TrueCar co-founder and former CTO Oded Noy said. "It shows that LA can generate good ideas, attract great teams, and companies here can have the financial support for any stage of the development - all the way to an exit, including IPOs."
Just like adtech firm Rubicon Project’s IPO in April, TrueCar’s exit was on everyone’s radar since last year. But what wasn’t quite so expected from the car-buying platform was the $71 million stock offering, significantly less than what the Santa Monica-based team hoped for. Shares were offered for $9 (compared to the $12-$14 range the company hoped for), but have since increased over 12 percent.
“We’re launching into a market right now that’s honestly a little choppy,” TrueCar President John Krafcik told BusinessWeek Friday. “The fact that we were able to get this off the ground today feels great.”
Today Rubicon Project’s shares are trading at about $12, down from its $17.50 debut April 2. But the lower-than-expected valuations aren’t bad news for LA: in fact, TrueCar’s and Rubicon Project's exits are just adding to the already great year for LA, which has included Edgecast’s $350 million exit and Maker Studios’ $500 million one. As Michael Carney would say, let’s keep the LA exit train of 2014 rolling.
