Companies and Brands

Casper Sleep Closes in on IPO: Should Investors Be Worried?

Chris Lange

Published: February 5, 2020 10:45 am

Casper Sleep has filed an amended S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering. The company intends to price its 8.35 million shares in the range of $12 to $13 apiece, down notably from its previous expected price range of $17 to $19. Casper has an overallotment option for an additional 1.253 million shares. At the maximum price, the entire offering now is valued up to $124.8 million. The company intends to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CSPR.

Look for the company to price its offering Wednesday night and to enter the markets Thursday morning.

One of the main takeaways here is that Casper’s new price for the offering puts the company’s valuation at roughly half a billion. It doesn’t help that the company cut its valuation to get here as well. Keep in mind that it had a valuation over a billion in the past year, when it was going through its funding in the private markets. Going forward, this means that the pre-IPO buyers should be concerned about the economics of this company.

The underwriters for the offering are Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Merrill Lynch, UBS Investment Bank, Citigroup, Piper Sandler and Guggenheim Securities.

Casper sells mattresses, pillows, blankets and other sleep-related items, both online and in retail locations. The company has served 1.4 million customers in seven countries in its first five years.

It’s no secret that the “sleep economy” is growing, as consumers spend more on wellness and are becoming more aware of the importance of sleep. This has been part of a broader trend as more consumers are pursuing healthier lifestyles.

In the filing, the company detailed:

In our first five years, Casper has experienced rapid growth. We believe our consumer focus, innovative products, and multichannel go-to-market strategy differentiate us both from legacy competitors and new entrants. For the years 2018, 2017, and 2016, our net revenue was $357.9 million, $250.9 million, and $169.1 million, respectively, representing a 45.5% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, our net revenue was $312.3 million and $259.7 million, respectively, representing 20.3% year-over-year growth.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital, to fund growth and for other general corporate purposes.

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