The New York Stock Exchange said late Tuesday that the reference price for Roblox, which is going public tomorrow, is $45 a share.
With about 652 million shares outstanding, the reference price indicates that Roblox’s market capitalization could be as much as $29.3 billion.
Roblox will trade Wednesday on the NYSE under the symbol RBLX. Existing stockholders have registered about 199 million shares for sale, but 388.2 million shares could potentially be sold. Unlike in a traditional IPO, the company isn’t raising new capital via the offering. Instead, holders will sell stock they already own.
The $45 reference price doesn’t mean that is where Roblox shares will begin trading. Rather, it is meant to be a guide that informs the public of recent private trading activity, according to a person familiar with the situation.
On Wednesday morning, the NYSE will collect buy and sell orders from broker-dealers. A designated market maker will then determine Roblox’s opening price after consulting with the company’s financial advisors.
Direct listings aren’t new but have gained attention of late. Roblox will be the fifth company to go public using this method.
Palantir Technologies (ticker: PLTR), Asana (ASAN), Slack Technologies (WORK), and Spotify Technologies (SPOT) all used direct listings to make their public equity-market debuts. Companies typically don’t raise capital via direct listings, although in December, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule change proposed by the NYSE that allows a company to do so.
Roblox won’t receive any proceeds from shareholders who sell their stock. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America, are advising Roblox on the deal.