Root. Inc, a car insurance provider based in Ohio raised $724 million after offering 26.8 million shares during its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday.
Root initially proposed an IPO price between $22 and $25 per share. Late Tuesday, the company announced that it is pricing its Class A common stock to the public for $27 per share.
It started trading its stock under the symbol “ROOT” on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Wednesday.
Root’s market debut put its valuation around $6.5 billion. It is the largest electronic-based car insurance IPO to launch this year. For example, in May, SelectQuote Inc successfully raised $360 million with a final listing valuing the company at $3.25 billion. Another insurance provider, Lemonade Inc, backed by SoftBank Group, raised $319 million in July and is valued at $1.6 billion.
Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and Wells Fargo Securities served as lead underwriters for Root’s market debut.
Root began offerings its services to customers in 2015, and has since developed smartphone-administered driving tests as well as an algorithm to give customers quotes, leading to solid profits.
