Raspberry Pi, the Cambridge-based company that builds low-cost computers, is planning to float on the London Stock Exchange.
The company sold 7.4mn of its single-board computers (SBCs) last year, generating revenue of $266mn (£211mn) and an operating profit of $37.5mn, according to a filing announcing its intention to float. Raspberry Pi has sold more than 60mn SBCs since the company’s launch in 2012.
No details were given on the size of the stake offered or the pricing range for its shares, although the company is seeking a market value of around $630mn (£500mn), according to the Financial Times. A fundraising round led by UK chip maker Arm Holdings (US:ARM) last year valued the business at $560mn.
Raspberry Pi is majority-owned by the Raspberry Pi Foundation – a charity set up in 2008 to promote interest in computer science among young people. The computers are used in a broader range of applications, though, and around 72 per cent of units sold last year were used in industrial applications and computers embedded within devices, according to Eben Upton, chief executive of Raspberry Pi and co-founder of the foundation.
Raspberry Pi has distributed around $50mn in dividends to the foundation since 2013, according to its filing. Both Arm and Sony Group Corporation (JP:6758) are significant shareholders.
Upton said the float offers the opportunity for the foundation “to double down on their outstanding work” to promote computing skills among young people.
