Initial public offering: Eventbrite prices shares at $23

Eventbrite founder and president, Julia Hartz, takes His Royal Highness, The Duke of York, on a tour of their San Francisco headquarters.AP/Jed Jacobsohn

Eventbrite, the ticketing and event management company, has raised $230 million in its initial public offering after selling 10 million shares at $23 apiece.   

The San Francisco-based company had previously set a target price of $19 to $21 each but then increased that range to $21 to $23. 

In its S-1 filing, Eventbrite said it hopes to use the proceeds to increase its capitalization and financial flexibility, and to pay off its debt — which currently stands at $66.36 million. For the year ended December 31, 2017, Eventbrite said it sold 46.7 million tickets and posted a net loss of $38.55 million. The company said it lost just $15.58 million in the first six months of 2018.

In the past 12 years as a private company, Eventbrite has raised $332 million. Tiger Global Management owns a 20.8% stake, followed by Sequoia Capital at 17.6%, and co-founder and chief executive Julia Hartz with 14.6%.

The offering was led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Allen & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Royal Bank of Canada.

Shares will start trading on the New York Stock exchange later Thursday, under the ticker symbol “EB.”