Clear IPO could raise up to $396M in hot biometrics investment market

Clear intends to raise up to $396 million, at a valuation of $2.2 billion, through its proposed initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the company says in a Form S1-A filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Depending on whether plans for IPOs by Chinese facial recognition giants come to pass, Clear could easily be the biggest public trading launch of the year in the biometrics industry.

The company will list 13.2 million shares of Class A common stock, at a price of $27 to $30 each. The Class A shares will have one vote each per share, like Class C shares, while Clear’s Class B and D stocks are each allotted 20 votes per share.

Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Allen & Co and Wells Fargo Securities have been retained as lead underwriters, the filing states.

A Reuters article notes that Clear would be worth close to $2 billion based on a multiple of eight times 2020 revenue, a roughly equivalent ratio to McAfee, TripAdvisor, and Peloton Interactive.

Clear previously signaled its intention to raise more than $100 million with an IPO under the ticker symbol ‘YOU,’ and has since signed up the first customer for its digital health pass secured with biometrics.

A series of recent acquisitions and funding rounds have highlighted a broad market appetite for investment in biometrics and digital ID. A funding round just announced by Transmit Security gives it, like Clear, a valuation of $2.2 billion.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  CLEAR  |  digital identity  |  health passes  |  identity verification  |  IPO  |  stocks  |  travel and tourism