UPDATED 03:42 EDT / APRIL 03 2017

APPS

Online used car marketplace Carvana seeks to raise $100M in IPO

Online used car marketplace Carvana Inc. is going public as the company Friday filed its initial public offering paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Self-described as the “Amazon of cars,” Carvana is an online platform that allows users to trade, finance, buy, and sell used cars. The company differs from other online car marketplaces by allowing users to take their cars out for a virtual ride using 360-degree photo technology.

In addition to selling cars and facilitating vehicle financing, the company can either deliver the car to a customer’s home or it can be dispensed from giant vending machines located at various locations throughout the United States.

According to its filing, the company has seen its revenues grow from $4.6 million in 2013 to $365.1 million in 2016. For the year ending Dec. 31, it sold 18,761 vehicles, up 188 percent from the previous year. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports, the company has not yet turned profitable, losing $145 million over the past three years, including $93 million last year.

After initially launching Atlanta, where it sold 6,288 vehicles in 2016, up 85 percent from 2015, Carvana now operates in 21 markets across the United States.

“This growth in market penetration was accompanied by a 35.1 percent reduction in advertising expense per retail unit sold to $568 per unit from $875 per unit in the prior year period,” the company noted. “This reflects advertising expenditures being spread over an increased number of units sold, as well as growing brand recognition, increasing word of mouth referrals and internal improvements, including more extensive vehicle inventory and various mobile and desktop website enhancements.”

The company plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CVNA and is seeking $100 million. But that figure may be a placeholder until the company gauges investor interest. Carvana had raised $460 million over four rounds from unnamed investors.

Photo: Carvana

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