Extreme sports action camera maker GoPro may soon go public as it has filed initial documents for its IPO.
On Friday, Feb. 7, the company made a brief announcement that it intends to go public as soon as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) completes its review process of the IPO submission.
"GoPro, Inc. announced today that it plans to conduct a registered initial public offering of its common stock. The offering is expected to commence after the SEC completes the review process initiated by GoPro's confidential submission on Friday February 7, 2014 of its draft registration statement," per GoPro statement.
GoPro is also trying to establish a strong executive team before it goes public. On Feb. 4 this year, GoPro announced the appointment of Jack Lazar as the chief financial officer of the company. Lazar served as a Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and General Manager from 2011 to 2013 at Qualcomm Atheros, a subsidiary of Qualcomm.
Lazar started his career as an auditor at PwC and over the years has also occupied high profile financial roles with a number of private and public companies. At Atheros, Lazar helped the company release its IPO in 2004, shortly after he joined the company.
However, this is not the first time that GoPro has expressed its intent to go public. In 2012, the action camera maker put its IPO plans aside after it managed to secure $200 million in private investment from Foxconn. The fresh investments in the company saw GoPro's value shoot up to $2.25 billion. However, at that time, Nicholas Woodman, CEO of GoPro, said that the company still wants to go public.
The company started out with just $64,000 and has now made more than $500 million. If the company plans to go public it is highly expected to attract the attention of investors and may gain popularity within a short time frame.
One of the key reasons for GoPro's success is the lack of stiff competition in the category of cameras offered by the company. GoPro has taken good advantage of the situation to advance. However, technology is growing at a rapid pace and it should not come as a surprise if GoPro finds a worthy competitor in the near term.
