Cloud Data Firm Snowflake Prices Record $33.3 Billion IPO
Snowflake prices its initial public offering above an increased range, valuing the cloud data company at $33.3 billion. Major investors like Berkshire Hathaway and Salesforce back the highly anticipated offering as the cloud software market surges.
Snowflake prices its initial public offering at $120 per share, pushing the valuation of the cloud-based data storage and analysis company to $33.3 billion. By selling 28 million shares, the software maker raises approximately $3.4 billion ahead of its debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SNOW." This launch marks the beginning of one of the busiest weeks for technology IPOs this year.
Investors show massive demand for the offering as the company generates over $500 million in annualized revenue and grows more than 130% in the first half of the year. Snowflake succeeds by allowing clients to quickly analyze and share vast amounts of data on flexible cloud infrastructure rather than relying on hardware-tied databases. High-profile backers also signal strong confidence in the company's market position.
Berkshire Hathaway and Salesforce each agree to purchase $250 million of stock at the IPO price through a private placement, with Berkshire also buying over 4 million shares from a former executive. Snowflake enters a hungry market where the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index jumps 55% this year, easily outpacing broader market gains as investors reward cloud software makers that thrive during the pandemic.