TrueCar Inc, the company which runs the car-pricing comparison website truecar.com, filed with U.S. regulators today Friday, April 4 to raise up to $125 million in an initial public offering of common stock. TrueCar.com allows visitors to view the average selling price of a new car, its sticker price, what the site estimates to be a good price, and the price that dealers in its network are offering.
The website operates through a network of 7,000 car dealers. The company’s primary revenuew stream is advertising and dealer subscriptions. True Car, based in Santa Monica, California-based listed online automotive sites such as AutoTrader.com, Autobytel.com, Cars.com and membership-based car-buying services such as the Costco Auto Program among its competitors.
TrueCar reported a 67-percent jump in revenue to $134 million for the year ended December 31. The company reported a net loss of $25 million during the period, down from $74.5 million a year earlier.
TrueCar said in December that it received a $30 million investment from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) co-founder Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital.
The company’s other main investors include venture capital firm Upfront Ventures, billionaire Jeff Skoll’s Capricorn Investment Group and insurer USAA.
Truecar did not reveal how many shares it planned to sell or their expected price, but said it intended to list its common stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol “TRUE”.
The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in an IPO is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.
Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are the lead underwriters to the offering, the company told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus. (link.reuters.com/kud38v)
The company plans to use the proceeds for investments and general corporate purposes.
Shares of Autohome Inc (ATHM.N), an owner of Chinese car sales websites, rose as much as 83 percent in their U.S. market debut in December.
Improving economic fundamentals and strong capital markets have boosted the U.S. IPO markets, doubling IPO volumes for the first quarter, according to a report by consulting firm EY.
Below is the fill Sec filing document:
