Anthropic is considering allocating 15% to 20% of shares in its planned initial public offering to individual investors and has chosen JPMorgan Chase to lead US retail sales, Bloomberg reported in a 28 October broadcast, citing people familiar with the plans. The proposal follows a public IPO filing on 26 October by Anthropic, which develops the Claude family of AI models, Seeking Alpha reported.
Key points
- Anthropic is weighing a 15% to 20% retail share allocation, which could change before the listing.
- JPMorgan is leading US retail sales; Citigroup is set to coordinate the international component.
- Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading the overall offering.
- Investors have discussed valuations of $1.4 trillion to $1.5 trillion, with some estimates reaching $1.75 trillion.
JPMorgan takes US retail sales
JPMorgan’s assignment concerns sales to individual investors in the US. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading the IPO as a whole. Anthropic is still discussing the proportion reserved for retail buyers, and that proportion could change before the listing. The proposed 15% to 20% applies to shares in the offering, rather than to the company’s total shares.
JPMorgan is coordinating outreach to high-net-worth investors, its private-banking clients and brokerage platforms. Jamie Dimon, the bank’s chief executive, is expected to join its campaign to attract retail investors, Seeking Alpha reported. Those channels would put the bank in contact with buyers through both its own client relationships and other firms’ trading platforms.
The assignment comes after JPMorgan led outreach to individual investors for SpaceX’s $86.2 billion IPO. That offering drew more than $100 billion in retail demand, Seeking Alpha reported. The figure measures investor demand for shares in that transaction, rather than the number of shares ultimately sold to individuals.
Citigroup’s retail remit extends beyond the US
Citigroup is set to coordinate Anthropic’s international retail offering. The countries covered are Australia, Canada, Japan, the UK and Switzerland, together with certain countries in the European Economic Area, according to the IPO filing as described by Seeking Alpha. Its remit sits alongside JPMorgan’s US role and the overall offering led by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
The two retail assignments divide the work by where prospective buyers are based. JPMorgan’s outreach includes private-banking customers and brokerage platforms in the US, while Citigroup’s assignment covers sales outside that market. The allocation under discussion is a share of the IPO offering as a whole; the final proportion could change while Anthropic’s plans remain under discussion.
Anthropic’s valuation discussions reach $1.75 trillion
Investors have discussed a valuation of about $1.4 trillion to $1.5 trillion for Anthropic, while some estimates reach $1.75 trillion, Bloomingbit reported. Those figures are estimates associated with the planned listing. The retail proposal concerns how shares would be distributed among buyers in the offering, while the valuation discussions concern the price being considered for the company.
Anthropic’s draft IPO prospectus reported an $80.7 billion loss, AI Affairs reported in its account of the filing. Separately, the company held $131.7 billion ahead of its IPO, more than all but two non-bank US companies, AI Affairs reported.
