New York (AFP)

The action of the door-to-door food and shopping delivery person DoorDash, which has benefited since the start of the pandemic from an explosion in demand for its services, panicked counters on the occasion of its very first listing on Wall Street on Wednesday.

While its IPO price was set at $ 102 per share, which allowed it to raise $ 3.4 billion, the company's stock started at $ 182 on the New York Stock Exchange, a increase of over 78%.

The company, listed under the ticker symbol DASH, was at its IPO price valued at some $ 39 billion.

The share level soared as the morning progressed, as brokers and bankers tried to gauge investor interest as accurately as possible.

For the occasion, the New York Stock Exchange was adorned with the orange color of the group's logo.

DoorDash officials virtually participated in the opening of the meeting: the faces of sixteen of them, visibly teleworking, appeared on a screen above the bell traditionally struck to mark the start of the exchanges.

The price at which the company was trading on Wednesday is well above the level initially envisaged, which was $ 75 to $ 85 per title just a week ago.

Its valuation has more than doubled in a few months: it stood at $ 16 billion during its last round of table in June.

The young shoot has been propelled to the front of the stage by the activity restriction measures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which have often led to the closure of restaurant rooms and encouraged individuals to have their items delivered. meals or their shopping.

It claims 1 million delivery men, called "Dashers", and more than 18 million customers, which gives it the number 1 position in the sector in the United States: it had a market share of 49% in September, against 22 % to Uber and 20% to GrubHub, according to the firm Second Measure.

Its turnover has more than tripled in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period in 2019.

Like many young companies going public, it remains in deficit: it lost 149 million dollars over the period.

In terms of governance, DoorDash has replicated the arrangements of other tech startups by offering three different types of shares.

This practice allows the boss, Tony Xu, also one of the co-founders, to retain control with 69% of the voting rights.

On Wall Street, DoorDash is ahead of a group of tech nuggets that are slated to hit the markets by the end of the year and include Airbnb, Wish and Roblox.

Airbnb is expected this Thursday.

© 2020 AFP