GreenSky Goes Public for $874 Million

GreenSky’s stock hit the market Thursday, May 24, at an initial price of $23 a share, the top end of its projected range. By issuing 38 million shares — almost 4 million more than it had planned in an SEC filing May 14 — the Sandy Springs-based financial technology company is raising $874 million.

The underwriters for the offering retain the option to purchase an additional 5.7 million shares — 600,000 more than previously publicized — within 30 days. If all 5.7 million are purchased, the price would be $131.1 million, pushing the total stock sale past the billion-dollar mark.

The initial public offering is expected to close Tuesday, May 29, the company said in a press release.

GreenSky uses proprietary technology to make point-of-sale consumer loans, usualls providing approvals within a minute while asking for minimal information from the borrower. It serves as a middleman between banks and consumers, working with merchants — such as home contractors, doctors and veterinarians — to bring financing offers to people.

Launched in 2006, GreenSky made a profit of $139 million on $326 million in revenue in 2017, up from a $124 million profit on $264 million in revenue in 2016.

Its founder, CEO and biggest shareholder is Sandy Springs resident and Jewish community member David Zalik, an Israeli native who grew up in Alabama and has been a serial entrepreneur since starting a computer assembly business as a teenager attending Auburn University.

By Forbes’ estimate, Zalik is worth $2.5 billion.

He told Forbes in a phone interview Thursday that the investors and founding team sold “a relatively small portion of ownership” with the stock offering.

After reaching $23.55 on the NASDAQ market, the stock closed up 36 cents at $23.36, an opening-day rise of 1.57 percent.

“I think GreenSky is an unusual company that shows growth and profitability that a lot of experts are looking for and the market responded with a lot of enthusiasm,” Gerry Benjamin, the board vice chairman and chief administrative officer, told the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

MarketWatch offers five things to know about GreenSky.