Despegar Files for IPO
August 15, 2017 by Chris LangeDespegar.com has registered an F-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in regards with its initial public offering (IPO). No pricing details were mentioned in this filing, but the offering is valued up to $100 million, although this number is usually just a placeholder. The company intends to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DESP.
The underwriters for the offering are Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Itau BBA, UBS Investment Bank, Cowen and KeyBanc Capital Markets.
This is the leading online travel company in Latin America, known by its two brands, Despegar, the global brand, and Decolar, the Brazilian brand. The company has a comprehensive product offering, including airline tickets, packages, hotels and other travel-related products, which enables consumers to find, compare, plan and purchase travel products easily through its marketplace.
Despegar provides its network of travel suppliers a technology platform for managing the distribution of their products and access to users. The firm believes that its focus on the underpenetrated Latin American online travel market will allow it to continue industry leadership.
In the six months ended June 30, 2017, and the year ended December 31, 2016, Despegar had roughly 2.5 million and 4.0 million customers, generating $248.5 million and $411.2 million in revenue, respectively. Its gross bookings were $2.1 billion and $3.3 billion in the six month ended June 30, 2017, and the year ended December 31, 2016, respectively.
In the filing, Despegar detailed:
Total Latin America online travel bookings are projected to be approximately $29.7 billion in 2016 and are expected to grow to approximately $47.6 billion by 2020, representing an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5%, according to Euromonitor International, with projected penetration of online travel bookings expected to increase from approximately 31% in 2016 to approximately 36% in 2020.
The firm intends to use the net proceeds it receives from this offering for general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions or other strategic opportunities in the future.
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