Since Lyft publicly released its much anticipated IPO filings on Friday March 1st 2019, many pundits have weighed in on its growth rates, heavy losses and future prospects. However, there are a number of insights hidden between the lines that we can dig from Lyft's filings. Here, we dive more deeply beyond Lyft's financials to delve into the true motivation behind Lyft's IPO that potential investors should heed, and subsequently lessons for other ridesharing companies like Uber, Didi Chuxing in China and Ola in India.
IPO to Cash Out, Not to Raise Capital to CompeteTypically, companies list their stocks publicly in order to raise more capital to finance their growths. This in turn also creates opportunities for investors, as public companies can use their newly raised funds to execute on projects that can take them to the next level and accelerate their growth.
However, this doesn't seem to be
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