GoPro, the maker of the world’s most versatile action camera set the price of its initial public offering (IPO) at $24 a share, the high-end of its expected range bringing its valuation to as much as $2.96 billion.
The company is expected to raise approximately $427 million from selling 17,800,000 shares at NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “GPRO.”
According to Dealogic, a platform provider for brokerage firms, investment advisers and investment banking professionals, the public offering of the action camera maker is the largest consumer-electronics IPO since Duracell International raised $433 million from its debut in 1991. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) acquired Duracell in 1997.
GoPro cameras are popular among extreme sports enthusiasts. The company disclosed in its Form-S1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it sold more than 8.5 million high-definition or HD cameras including 3.8 million last year. The company introduced its first HD camera in July 2009.
GoPro was the top selling camcorder and the sixth cameral accessory company in the United States last year, according to NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service. The GoPro HERO cameras captured 45% share of the camcorder market in the country.
David Menlow, president of IPOfinancial.com described GoPro as a “hot brand” and “on fire” due to the popularity of its cameras. He emphasized, “First into a market usually gets the largest market share.”
Commenting on the popularity of GoPro camera’s, Paul Meeks, a technology analyst at Saturna Capital said, “Over time, even though it looks like they have a great product now, it looks like a commoditized hardware vendor. I just don’t know, over time, if it can’t be copied by Apple and Samsung and the like.”
Market observers noted that some of the most popular personal devices or gadgets with loyal followings are produced by large companies such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (KRX:005935).
In a note to investors, Charlie Anderson, an analyst at Dougherty & Co said, “There probably hasn’t been a consumer electronics brand as dominant as GoPro has been in its category since the early days of the iPod or the iPad.”
Nicholas Woodman is the founder and CEO of GoPRO. He is the largest shareholder of the company with 49% stake.
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