Monday, April 6, 2015

HFT Firm Virtu Plans IPO At 13.6% Haircut From Last Valuation

From ValueWalk:
As Virtu Plans IPO, It Lost $410 Million In Value Over Past Year
After revenues and profits rise on the year, the estimated value of Virtu falls
The value of Virtu Financial apparently fell by nearly $410 million since the launch of the book Flash Boys, Initial Public Offering documents reveal.

The high-frequency trading firm, known as having one of the best connected board of directors in its industry, is seeking to leverage a near perfect track record in an initial public offering, The Wall Street Journal’s Bradley Hope and Angela Chen are reporting.

Virtu value drops as revenue and profits rise
The Virtu IPO, which values the company at $2.59 billion, is expected to raise $361.2 million when it sells 16.5 million shares this spring.  This is the second time at the altar for Virtu, who was blindsided last year when its IPO was canceled in light of the book “Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt” by Michael Lewis. After release of the book and resulting firestorm a year ago, Virtu withdrew its IPO, which then valued the firm at $3 billion....MORE
Related:

Nov. 2014 
"Insights Into High Frequency Trading From The Virtu Initial Public Offering" 
May 2014 
The Adaptive Genius of Rigged Markets
Feb. 2014  
Signposts: As Retail Investors Return to Day Trading, Major HFT Files for IPO