Restaurants Payments Firm Toast Files for U.S. IPO

(Bloomberg) — Toast Inc., which helps restaurants handle payments, has filed for a U.S. initial public offering. 

The Boston-based company plans to raise $100 million, a placeholder amount likely to change, according to a filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  

The company could seek a valuation of more than $20 billion in a listing, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year. 

The filing comes as the restaurant industry rebounds from a pandemic that was disastrous for in-person dining but was a boon for takeout and delivery services. Food-ordering software provider Olo Inc. is up more than 90% since going public in March. 

Toast said its software is easy for restaurant workers to use and lets diners order online, in-person or over their phones. Restaurants can also use the guest data it captures to craft loyalty and marketing programs. 

“Running a restaurant is tough,” co-founders Aman Narang, Steve Fredette, and Jonathan Grimm said in the prospectus. “We started Toast to make restaurant work a little easier.” 

Revenue rose 105% year-over-year during the six months ending June 30, to $704 million. Its net loss widened to $235 million during the same time period from $125 million a year earlier. 

Incorporated in 2011, the company’s platform was used by about 48,000 restaurants as of June 30 and processed $38 billion in gross payments over the previous 12 months. In June, it averaged 5.5 million guest orders per day.

While it describes itself as the leading industry payments provider, it sees explosive growth opportunities, with just 6% of the 860,000 restaurants in the U.S. on its platform. 

The company raised money last year at a valuation of $4.9 billion from investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, TPG, Tiger Global Management and Greenoaks Capital. 

Toast plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TOST. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are leading the offering. 

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