Online marketplace Etsy is taking steps to increase the number of small investors who will be able to buy stock when the company goes public, the Wall Street Journal reports, a handcrafted way to launch an IPO for a company that prides itself on what it calls “socially responsible business practices.”
The Brooklyn-based company is limiting retail investors to just $2,500 of stock. That should mean a larger-than-usual number of retail investors will take part in the IPO, though a handful of major shareholders will get comparatively bigger pieces of the pie.
The Journal notes it’s difficult to tell how this structure will affect Etsy’s public offering:
It is unclear how this will affect trading. Some wealthy investors may choose to sell their shares immediately for a profit because their investment represents a relatively small dollar amount. But individuals, like Etsy sellers who aren’t frequent investors, may be far less likely to trade than typical retail investors.
Etsy hopes to raise $267 million through its offering, which would value the company at $1.8 billion. The company plans to be traded on the public market next week.
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