So here's a fun idea: what if you could invest in hot, pre-IPO startups without being a venture capitalist? That's essentially what Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) is trying to do with its latest move.
The company is taking its venture capital ambitions public. Not Robinhood itself, but a new fund it's launching called Robinhood Ventures Fund I, or RVI for short. The fund priced its initial public offering on Friday at $25.00 per share. Based in Menlo Park, the fund is raising a cool $658.4 million from this offering.
If all goes according to plan, you'll be able to buy shares of this fund on the New York Stock Exchange starting March 6. Just look for the ticker symbol RVI.
What Exactly Is This Thing?
RVI is structured as a closed-end fund. In plain English, that means it's giving regular, retail investors a way to get exposure to a bunch of private companies all bundled together in one package.
This is a pretty big deal because, let's be honest, the private market has always been a bit of a VIP club. Access to promising startups before they go public has traditionally been reserved for big institutions, venture capital firms, and accredited investors with deep pockets. RVI is Robinhood's attempt to tear down that velvet rope and let the public in.
The offering itself consists of 12,615,608 common shares. All of these shares are being sold by the fund itself.
And It Might Get Even Bigger
Here's a twist that often comes with these deals. The fund has given its underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 1,892,341 shares. If the bankers decide to exercise that option in full, the total amount raised would jump to about $705.7 million.
It's worth noting that all these dollar figures are the gross amounts, calculated before subtracting the sales load and other offering expenses. The whole offering is expected to wrap up around March 9, assuming all the usual closing conditions are met.
Interestingly, on the day this news broke, shares of the parent company, Robinhood, were having a rough go of it, down about 4% to $77.33, according to market data. Sometimes the market reacts to news in funny ways.
