Lyft, Inc. (LYFT) Accused of Inflating its IPO Price
According to the complaint against the company for alleged violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933 pursuant to the company’s March 2019 initial public offering (“IPO”), Lyft, Inc. (LYFT) held its IPO offering its stock at $72.00 per share for anticipated total proceeds of over $2 billion. In the immediate wake of the IPO, Lyft’s stock price declined as investors raised concerns that Lyft’s reported market share may have been overstated. Investor concerns were exacerbated on April 10, 2019, by reports that Uber, Lyft’s much larger competitor, was preparing to file for an initial public offering. The next day, Uber’s Form S-1 claimed a market share of greater than 65%, which undermined Lyft’s market share claim of 39%. A few days later, the New York Times reported that Lyft’s bikeshare program, Citi Bike, was pulling 1,000 bicycles from multiple cities in the wake of dozens of reported injuries and safety concerns. Lyft’s stock has declined in response to these revelation, and trades at around $58 per share—almost 20% below its IPO price.