Although this IPO is small compared to other technology companies, it could breathe life into the faltering London Stock Exchange, which has been overlooked by technology companies in favor of listings in other parts of Europe, especially in the United States.
Arm, the Softbank-owned chip designer headquartered in the United Kingdom, chose to list in the United States last year.
A number of industry-leading companies support the Raspberry Pi, including Arm and Sony. Last year, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation, invested an undisclosed amount in the British startup.
Raspberry Pi shares will begin “conditional trading” on Tuesday. This is the period during which some investors – such as institutional investors – can begin trading shares on the London Stock Exchange. Individual investors cannot buy or sell shares at this time and must wait until unconditional trading begins on Friday.
The Raspberry Pi offering consists of 45.9 million common shares sold by the company’s current majority shareholder, Raspberry Pi Mid Co Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It also includes 2.13 million common shares sold by other shareholders, in addition to 11.23 million newly issued shares.
If there is more demand, the so-called mass allotment option will allow the Raspberry Pi Foundation to issue another 4.6 million shares. If the lump-sum allotment option is exercised, the final offer size will be £178.9 million.
Raspberry CEO Eben Upton founded the company in 2012 to make computing accessible to young people. Single board computers can be used to power a full range of applications.
While it initially gained traction with hobbyists, the company says 72% of its unit sales are targeted at the industrial market, where they are used, for example, in factories.
In 2023, Raspberry Pi posted revenue of $265.8 million, up 41% year over year from 2022.
“Devoted student. Bacon advocate. Beer scholar. Troublemaker. Falls down a lot. Typical coffee enthusiast.”