On Monday, GoDaddy Inc. filed for its initial public offering with a $100 million placeholder. The 17 year-old company will use investments to reduce debt and facilitate corporate growth.
In 2011, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Silver Lake Partners, and Technology Crossover Ventures bought major stakes in the Scottsdale, Arizona company for an estimated $2.25 billion.
Under the new ownership, GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons stepped down from his role as CEO, though he still owns 28% of the company.
GoDaddy earned $1.13 billion in revenue last year, but struggled with a $200 million loss. This is less than its $279.1 million net loss in 2012. This year the company has lost $51 million in its first quarter.
Although suffering from financial loss, GoDaddy has maintained steady growth. It currently manages over 57 million domains, and services some 12 million customers. In addition, the internet domain registrar and web hosting company has continued to grow its team, and now has 14 facilities worldwide and more than 4000 employees.
Earlier this year, roughly one year after former EVP and Chief Product Officer at Yahoo!, Blake Irving stepped up as CEO of GoDaddy, the company expanded its services by introducing managed WordPress hosting.
Under Irving’s vision, GoDaddy will continue to home in on helping small and medium businesses grow their companies online. In the context of this vision, it makes sense to tap into the managed WordPress space.
The IPO is being lead by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.
Marie Dodson is the assistant editor at Torque. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Biology and Society. She enjoys wine, good books, and travel.
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