Wearable Camera Maker GoPro Files For US IPO

GoPro, a maker of wearable cameras popular with sports enthusiasts, is planning a flotation on the Nasdaq exchange, in a move that could test investors’ interest in wearable consumer electronics shares.

The company filed with US regulators on Monday saying it wants to raise at least $100m (£63m), with some reports estimating it hopes to raise about $400m. The company, which launched its first camera ten years ago, has a growing social media and television presence, and in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it plans to use the cash from the flotation to expand that side of its business.

Social media

GoPro has millions of subscribers on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and content syndication deals with Microsoft’s Xbox and airline Virgin America. Its cameras are used by television channels including The Discovery Channel and ESPN. It said it plans to “scale GoPro as a media entity”, producing original content and aggregating video shot by its users. Wearable technology and the “Internet of Things” are currently a hot topic of conversation, in part due to the explosion in mobile devices such as smartphones.

“We believe consumer demand for compelling content, combined with our self-capture technology and the popularity of social media, create a significant media opportunity for GoPro,” the company stated in its preliminary prospectus.

Founder and chief executive Nicholas Woodman and his family remain the biggest shareholders, with a 49 percent stake, and Foxteq Holdings, a unit of Foxconn, is another prominent investor.

JP Morgan, Citigroup and Barclays are lead underwriters for the IPO.

The company’s filing said it sold 3.8 million cameras last year and almost doubled revenues to $985.7m. It has been profitable for the past three years, with income at $60.6m in 2013, nearly double that of the previous year. Revenues and earnings dipped 8 percent in the first quarter of this year, in part due to a production glitch that had artificially boosted sales for the first quarter of 2013, according to the filing.

The company’s competitors include Canon, Nikon, Sony and Samsung – which is partly why it is emphasising its strengths as a media and online company.

The filing said GoPro wants to use proceeds from the flotation for working capital, repaying debt and acquiring or investing in businesses, technologies or assets.

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