ZoomInfo raises nearly $1 billion in its IPO

Even amid a pandemic and protests, investors are hungry for new investments.

Shares of ZoomInfo, a database for business and sales contacts, soared as much as 90% in trading Thursday after the company raised $935 million in an initial public offering of some 44.5 million shares. While the amount raised implied a market cap of about $8 billion, trading in public markets values it at above $14 billion.

The fundraise comes after Warner Music Group jumpstarted the IPO market after a pandemic-induced drought with the largest offering of 2020 yet on Wednesday, valuing the entertainment company at $15.4 billion.

While ZoomInfo paused its plans for an IPO as the coronavirus roiled global markets, the company saw record demand in April as business shifted their sales efforts online.

“As the pandemic hit, we said the markets aren’t in a place [to IPO],” CEO Henry Schuck told Term Sheet. But as markets settled, “investors were telling us…the market would like to see a company like this debut on it.”

What’s more: Shift4 Payments is expected to list today, while car marketplace Vroom is expected to list next week. Amwell, a telemedicine company, filed confidentially for an IPO earlier this week too.

But the dramatic upswing in ZoomInfo’s stock on the public market ignites the debate over whether shares were mispriced—leaving capital on the table for the company. In one sense, the company could have raised nearly double what it actually did. On the other, a perceived selloff could be unbearable in the currently bizarre market conditions.

Schuck says he has no gripes. 

“I’m just not looking at the stock price today,” the executive said.

It’s also a good deal for the likes of BlackRock, Dragoneer, and Fidelity, which said they would acquire up to $100 million each of shares in ZoomInfo at the offering price.

Great Hill Partners acquired ZoomInfo for $240 million in 2017 before selling the stake for an undisclosed amount to Discoverorg, then backed by Carlyle and TA Associates—creating the current company.

Based on a back-of-the-envelope calculation, TA Associates now owns a stake in the company worth $4.4 billion while Carlyle holds a stake worth $3.8 billion. Notably the holdings are in Class B and C shares of ZoomInfo, which hold different voting rights but convert on a one-to-one basis with currently trading Series A shares.

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