Lyft IPO: 5 things to know

Lyft will soon be public.

The ride-hailing startup is set to debut on Friday in one of the most highly anticipated IPOs of the year after pricing shares at $72 late Thursday, the high end of the expected range which was increased earlier this week amid strong demand for the deal. Its previous range was between $62 to $68 per share.

That means Uber’s biggest rival could be valued well-above its $24 billion market valuation.

Here are five things to know about the company ahead of its IPO.

1. While Lyft didn’t officially launch until 2012, the company’s co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer (now CEO) did previously create a carpooling service called Zimride in 2007. Although Zimride wasn’t quite the same concept as it was more of a solution for city-to-city rides and longer trips, it later morphed into an Uber-like concept, officially changing its name to Lyft in 2013.

REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo (Reuters)

2. In 2016, General Motors announced it has invested $500 million into Lyft, upping its value at the time to $5.5 billion. GM said the move is an effort to establish a network of ownerless car hubs, where Lyft drivers can rent GM vehicles. “We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous,” said GM President Dan Ammann in a statement.

3. Uber vs Lyft. While Lyft has beaten its main competitor Uber in the race to go public, it is still a fraction of Uber’s market size. Uber, who is also set to go public this year, has reportedly received proposals from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, which value it around $120 billion.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, a driver displaying Lyft and Uber stickers on his front windshield drops off a customer in downtown Los Angeles. Hailing a ride with a smartphone app in many U.S. cities could come down to a fight ov

4. Market Share: The main reason that Uber is valued so much higher than Lyft is due to its market share and reach. Currently, Lyft operates in more than 300 U.S. cities across the country and 9 cities throughout Canada, while Uber operates in about 785 metropolitan areas worldwide.

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5. Both Uber and Lyft are expected to give some of their most committed drivers a piece of the IPO action as well. According to The Wall Street Journal, which cites people familiar with the matter, both ride-hailing companies are planning to give some of their most-active or longest-serving drivers a cash reward with an option to buy IPO shares. Lyft is said to be giving out incentives to drivers who have logged the most rides and who have helped build the platform through the years. For example, a Lyft driver who has logged 20,000 rides would be eligible for $10,000 in cash or that equivalent amount of stock, the report said.  However, those who have logged below that at around 10,000 would only be eligible for $1,000 cash or stock award. Lyft sources said it only expects a minority of its drivers to be eligible.