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Roblox (RBLX) direct listing set for March after two IPO delays

The massively popular gaming platform will list its Class A common stock on the NYSE as RBLX.

Sam Chandler

February 22, 2021 8:03 PM

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Roblox Corp, the company behind the hugely popular Roblox game, has announced a rough date for when the company plans to go public. Around March 10 is when the public can expect the direct listing to launch, which follows two IPO delays.

The plans to go public “on or about” March 10, 2021, has been made known thanks to a filing with the SEC, as reported by Matthew Fox of Business Insider. The pertinent section of the Class A Common Stock filing reads:

We have been approved to list our Class A common stock on the NYSE under the symbol “RBLX.” We expect our Class A common stock to begin trading on or about March 10, 2021.

According to Business Insider, Roblox had plans to go public previously but was delayed on two separate occasions due to volatile openings for other companies and an inquiry by the SEC into the company’s finances. This change from an IPO to a direct listing is similar to what took place with Slack and Spotify. Check out this helpful resource on the difference between an IPO and a direct listing.

The filing with the SEC notes the low and high sales price per share of the Class A stock in 2018 and 2020. In 2018, the price was $2.10 and $4.53 (low and high) and then in 2020 it was $6.34. This increase in value reflects the increase in users which grew 85% from 2019 to 2020 (17.6 million to 32.6 million).

It was only in February of 2020 that Roblox Corp was valued at over $4 billion. This followed a round of funding, allowing the company to garner $150 million in investments.

For those that aren’t familiar with Roblox, it is a content creation platform that allows users to create gaming experiences and share them with the community. Players can access a seemingly unlimited number of worlds and experiences that were created by their fellow players. According to the Roblox Corp site, as of September 2020, more than $200 million has been paid to the community developers, of which some 18 million experiences have been crafted.

With Roblox Corp’s plan to go public around March 10, 2021, would-be investors would likely do well to keep a finger on the pulse. There is an upcoming Investor Day on February 26, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. PT / 11:00 a.m. ET. Be sure to keep it locked to Shacknews as we cover the latest developments surrounding the Roblox direct listing.

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler