Navan pursues IPO during lockdown, targets $6.45 billion valuation

Corporate travel management company Navan — formerly known as TripActions — filed updated IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, even though the federal government is currently shut down.

Navan follows new SEC rules that allow prospective companies that are in limbo during the shutdown to file updated information, including share counts and prices, and have their filings automatically approved within 20 days without staff review. Once the deposits are declared effective, Navan can launch its roadshow. The rule does not mean, however, that staff cannot ask questions or request amended documents later.

Navan declined to comment to TechCrunch on its updated IPO documents.

The thinking was that the shutdown would cool, or even freeze, an IPO market that had only just begun to thaw. Even with this rule, many companies prefer to get a green light from an employee rather than go it alone, sources told Bloomberg. The tech world will therefore be watching how Navan’s bet plays out.

Navan’s updated filing shows the company plans to sell 30 million shares, with insiders selling another 7 million. The price was between $24 and $26. At the high end, the company would raise more than $960 million and be valued at $6.45 billion. Navan is backed by Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, Zeev Ventures and Greenoaks.

Navan generated rolling 12-month revenue of $613 million (up 32%), with losses of $188 million, according to the updated filing.