Investors sent shares of GrubHub Inc. up nearly 40 percent Friday following an initial public offering that valued the online food ordering service at more than $2 billion. GrubHub is one of four companies to go public Friday in what has been a very hot IPO market, especially for businesses in the cloud software and biotech industries. There have been 71 IPOs priced so far this year, up 115 percent from the same time last year, according to IPO investment adviser and research company Renaissance Capital. Instead of calling in an order, people can order meals online or through a few taps on a smartphone app, and can search through many restaurants at once by cuisine or other specifications. CEO Matt Maloney said most people in the country are still ordering food with a paper menu and a telephone call. GrubHub launched national TV campaigns last year to convert people to online ordering. Maloney said restaurants can use multiple services if they choose, since the business owners don't have to pay anything upfront. Auto lender Ally Financial Inc., which has been under government control since the financial crisis, and hotel chain La Quinta Holdings Inc. are among the companies going public next week.
Reported by SeattlePI.com 6 hours ago.
↧