California high school makes millions on Snap ("SnapChat") IPO
A high school in Mountain View, California, has made millions from Snap's initial public offering (IPO) less than four years after investing $15,000 in the Venice, California-based technology company.
Saint Francis High School was one of the first investors in the company behind the ephemeral messaging app Snapchat, having invested a small proportion of its endowment fund in Snap Inc's seed round of financing in 2012.
Snap made its trading debut Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange. It had priced its IPO of 200 million shares at $17 each but shortly after the opening bell stock began trading significantly higher, eventually closing at $24.48 per share – up 44 percent on expectations.
The school has not confirmed its overall return but it is estimated to have made nearly $24 million, according to officials cited by NBC.
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The school first became involved in the technology firm in 2012 when Barry Eggers, a parent of two Saint Francis pupils and founding partner of venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, became intrigued by his children's use of the app.
Eggers met with Snap co-founders Evan Spiegal and Bobby Murphy, who at the time were working out of Stamford dorm room, and, having been suitably impressed, prompted Lightspeed to lead a $500,000 investment round – the company's first.
Lightspeed invested $485,000 and Eggers invited Saint Francis' to put forward the remaining $15,000 from its investment fund that had been created in 1990 by parents and former Saint Francis president Kevin Makley to support long term initiatives.
The school has not confirmed its overall return but it is estimated to have made nearly $24 million, according to officials cited by NBC.
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