Travel tech firm Navan eyes $6.45 billion valuation in US IPO

By Prakhar Srivastava (Reuters) -Corporate travel and expense company Navan said on Friday it is targeting a valuation of up to $6.45 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, below the level it reached in a 2022 funding round, as it pushes ahead with listing plans despite the U.S. government shutdown. The Palo Alto, California-based firm plans to raise about $960 million by offering 36.92 million shares priced between $24 and $26 apiece. Its shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the "NAVN" ticker symbol. The offering comes amid a rebound in U.S. IPO activity, driven by easing market volatility, which is lifting investor sentiment after a period of trade policy uncertainty. The strong market debuts of Alliance Laundry and Phoenix Education Partners on Thursday underscored renewed appetite for risk among investors. Still, the U.S. government shutdown threatens to stall the recovery, with the Securities and Exchange Commission suspending IPO reviews and other regulatory approvals as it is operating with limited staff. "The IPO comes amid heightened volatility in equities in general and big weakness in some of this year's U.S. IPO vintage," said Josef Schuster, CEO of IPO research firm IPOX. "While IPO sentiment remains positive overall, we expect this to weigh on IPO demand going forward," Schuster added. "We therefore believe that issuers need to be flexible to potentially accommodate this changing market environment with more attractive offering terms." Navan was valued at $9.2 billion in 2022 after raising $300 million in a Series G funding round. Founded in 2015 as TripActions by Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig, Navan initially focused on corporate travel management, aiming to modernize services traditionally provided by companies such as American Express and SAP Concur. Over the years, Navan has expanded into corporate payments and expense management, and spread its tentacles across the world, serving global clients including Zoom Communications and Lyft, according to its website. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Jefferies, Mizuho and Morgan Stanley are among the underwriters for the offering. (Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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