Navan, a corporate travel and expense management company, announced plans to pursue a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) targeting a valuation of up to $6.45 billion, which is lower than its 2022 funding round valuation, as it advances its listing plans despite the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
Based in Palo Alto, California, Navan aims to raise approximately $960 million by offering 36.92 million shares at a price range of $24 to $26 per share. Its shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “NAVN.” The IPO comes amid a rebound in U.S. IPO activity, fueled by easing market volatility, which has bolstered investor sentiment following a period of trade policy uncertainty. The strong market debuts of Alliance Laundry and Phoenix Education Partners highlighted a renewed investor appetite for risk.
However, the U.S. government shutdown poses a potential obstacle to this recovery, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is operating with limited staff, suspending IPO reviews and other regulatory approvals.
“The IPO comes amid heightened volatility in equities in general and big weakness in some of this year’s U.S. IPO vintage,” said Josef Schuster, CEO of IPO research firm IPOX. “While IPO sentiment remains positive overall, we expect this to weigh on IPO demand going forward. We therefore believe that issuers need to be flexible to potentially accommodate this changing market environment with more attractive offering terms.”
In 2022, investors valued Navan at $9.2 billion after the company raised $300 million in a Series G funding round.
Founded in 2015 as TripActions by Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig, Navan initially focused on corporate travel management, aiming to modernize services traditionally offered by companies such as American Express and SAP Concur. Over time, Navan has expanded into corporate payments and expense management, building a global client base that includes Zoom Communications (ZM.O) and Lyft (LYFT.O), according to its website.
Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Jefferies, Mizuho, and Morgan Stanley are underwriting the IPO.
