Zendesk Raises $100M for IPO, Begins Trading on NYSE

Zendesk, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) customer service platform provider, has raised $100 million by offering 11.1 million shares in an initial public offering (IPO) that started at $9 per share. Zendesk today began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker “ZEN.” And as of 11:15 a.m. ET, Zendesk’s stock hit $12.72 per share, roughly a 41 percent increase from its opening price.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported Zendesk registered for its IPO on April 10, but the company originally began planning to go public in January. According to Renaissance Capital, Zendesk initially filed for its IPO confidentially on February 14.

Zendesk said more than 40,000 customers across 140 countries were using its cloud software in February. Also, Zendesk posted $72 million in total revenue last year, representing an 88 percent year-over-year increase.

All of the Zendesk IPO’s common stock is being offered by Zendesk, and Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. In addition, Canaccord Genuity and Pacific Crest Securities are acting as co-managers.

The Wall Street Journal pointed out Zendesk could be the first of several cloud software companies to go public soon.  Box and MobileIron are also planning IPOs in the near future.

In March, Box said it was hoping to raise $250 million for its IPO. Meanwhile, MobileIron’s revenue exceeded $100 million in 2013, and while the company has yet to announce any IPO plans, Bloomberg cited anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation who claimed MobileIron plans to launch an IPO.