SINGAPORE – Singapore ride-hailing company Ryde is seeking to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
In a preliminary prospectus lodged on Aug 31, the home-grown start-up indicated it intended to raise up to US$17 million (S$23 million) in an initial public offering (IPO), with no pricing terms disclosed. New York-based investment bank Maxim Group is the sole bookrunner on the deal.
The ride-hailing platform founded in 2014 differentiated itself by focusing on carpooling service. It also envisioned becoming a “super mobility app”, offering multiple mobility tools through a single app, according to the prospectus.
About three-quarters of its 2022 revenue of $8.8 million came from the carpooling and ride-hailing services.
It also makes money from advertising and Ryde+ membership, which stood at $2.2 million in total for the past year.
The start-up, however, sustained net losses of $5 million in 2022 and $1.2 million in 2021, according to the financial statements disclosed.
Its accounting firm raised “doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern” in the prospectus, as its working capital stood at a negative $3.2 million and its shareholders’ deficiency was also a negative $7.7 million as at the end of 2022.
Responding to that, Ryde said its management has commenced a strategy to raise debt and equity, including raising funds through the IPO.
Ryde said that as until the IPO filing, it had obtained $5.8 million in funding from venture capital companies.
The ride-hailing platform had said in 2021 that it planned to list on the Singapore Exchange’s Catalist board in March 2022 with a targeted valuation of $200 million. However, no prospectus had been lodged. It also said at the time that it planned to recruit 100 more staff between 2021 and 2024.
According to the prospectus filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, its total number of employees stood at 31 as at March 2023.
The company is also expanding to the quick commerce industry. It acquired Meili Technology, a last-mile on-demand logistics services provider in Singapore, earlier in 2023. THE BUSINESS TIMES
Car-pooling app Ryde rides NFT wave with new rewards plan
Global IPO market shows signs of life even as recession fears persist
Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
p.st_telegram_boilerplate:before {
display: inline-block;
content: ” “;
border-radius: 6px;
height: 6px;
width: 6px;
background-color: #12239a;
margin-left: 0px;
margin-right: 13px;
}
a.st_boilerplate {
font-family: “SelaneWebSTForty”, Georgia, “Times New Roman”, Times, serif;
}