Roku Pursues $252m IPO, Doubles Fundraising To Battle Rivals

Californian-based Roku hopes to raise over $252 million in its upcoming IPO, as it seeks to battle rivals Apple, Google and Amazon in the lucrative online video streaming market.

Some of Roku’s direct rivals include Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast.

The company states it will offer 18 million shares, priced between $12 – $14, which should bring in more than double what it forecast ($100 million) in its IPO filing a couple of months earlier.

Reports state Roku is pursuing a market cap of $1 billion, and using the current plan will tip the company’s valuation to $1.2 billion.

The company has raised over $200 million in funding since 2008.

Prior to Roku’s IPO Menlo Ventures was the company’s largest stakeholder, with a 35.5% share. Menlo Ventures will be selling six million shares.

As of June 30th, Roku is said to have 15.1 million active accounts.

The company states users have streamed more than 6.7 billion hours within the first half of the year.

In America, 38.9 million Americans are utilising Roku-equipped devices. Reports state that the company sees more consumers utilising its equipped devices than any other competitor.

Data reveals Roku is still unprofitable – since its founding in 2002 has gathered $244 million in losses. In 2016, the company notched $399 million in revenue and lost $43 million.

Currently, Roku obtains the majority of its revenue from the sale of its streaming players, however, is set to be increasing its efforts to bring in funds from advertising, commissions from subscriptions and other transactions made through its devices.

The company’s boxes, USB sticks, and TVs enables users to stream Hulu, HBO Go, Amazon Video and Netflix, plus a suite of other channels.