Sep 9, 2020 - Economy & Business

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to invest in Snowflake's IPO

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Getty Images photo: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Snowflake, a San Mateo, Calif.-based cloud data warehousing company, disclosed that Berkshire Hathaway and Salesforce Ventures each will purchase $250 million shares as part of its upcoming IPO. Berkshire also said it plans to buy around 4 million additional shares from insiders.

Why it matters: It's tough to square Warren Buffett's value investing philosophy with Snowflake, a tech unicorn without profits or a public trading history.

IPO details: Snowflake plans to offer 28 million shares at $75-$85, in addition to the direct $500 million purchases from Berkshire and Salesforce. It would have a fully diluted market value of $28.2 billion, were it to price in the middle.

ROI: The company has raised around $1.4 billion in VC funding, most recently at a $12.4 billion valuation, from firms like Sutter Hill Ventures (20.3% pre-IPO stake), Altimeter (14.8%), Iconiq (13.8%), Redpoint Ventures (9%), Sequoia Capital (8.4%), and Dragoneer.

The bottom line: "In 54 years, I don't think Berkshire has ever bought a new issue." — Warren Buffett, speaking to CNBC in May 2019

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Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
Sep 30, 2020 - Economy & Business

What to expect when Palantir goes public

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Palantir, the big data analytics company co-founded by Peter Thiel, is set to go public today via a direct listing. The NYSE has set a $7.25 per share reference price, although the actual opening price might be much different.

Why it matters: This is one of two direct listings today, alongside Asana, which effectively doubles the number of VC-backed tech companies that have gone public this way — following last year's direct listings by Slack and Spotify.

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Axios
Updated 23 mins ago - Politics & Policy

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Politics: Ex-FDA chief: Pence campaigning after COVID exposure puts others at risk — Mark Meadows: "We are not going to control the pandemic"
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  3. World: Australian city Melbourne to exit one of world's longest lockdowns — In photos: Coronavirus restrictions grow across Europe
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Updated 27 mins ago - World

In photos: Coronavirus restrictions grow across Europe

A skeleton is placed at a restaurant table in Rome to protest Italy's restrictions that'll see gyms, movie theaters and pools close and bars and restaurants required to shut by 6 p.m. until at least Nov. 24. Photo: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Restrictions are returning across much of Europe as the continent faces a second coronavirus wave.

The big picture: Spain and France each surpassed 1 million cases last week, and both countries have implemented further restrictions on citizens. Italian officials announced strict new measures, effective Monday, to combat another cases spike. From Denmark to Romania, take a look at what steps countries have been taking, in photos.

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