Casper Sleep, the online mattress retailer whose investors include actor Leonardo DiCaprio and rapper 50 Cent, said on Monday it aims to raise up to $182.4 million in its U.S. listing.
The New York-based company plans to sell 9.6 million shares, including the underwriters’ option, at between $17-$19 per share. The top end of the range values the company at $768.2 million, below the $1.1-billion valuation that it achieved in March last year.
Casper’s public debut comes as the company has been expanding into brick-and-mortar retail, transitioning from temporary to permanent stores.
The New York-based company’s investors include retailer Target Corp and investment firms Lerer Hippeau Ventures, IVP and NEA.
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Jefferies are the lead underwriters on the IPO.
Still, there are naysayers. An article in Forbes over the weekend pointed to Casper’s tendency to burn through cash.
“Casper seems to have,” the article read, “no choice but to try the IPO market to fund its losses. Casper has raised a whopping $300 million and is valued at $1.1 billion according to the Wall Street Journal. Sadly, it lost $67 million on $312 million of revenue and has a mere $55 million in cash.”
The article also points to an intetnse rivalry with three companies dominating the industry. “Serta Simmons controls 32.5% of the market, Temper Sealy’s share is 26.3%, and Sleep Number is in third place with 5.5% of the market.”