Media Room
29 Mar 2019
For the First Time, BCS Global Markets Allows Russian Investors to Invest in U.S. Unicorn

BCS Global Markets clients were able to participate in LYFT’s IPO, which was valued at $21 billion

1st April 2019: Initial Public Offering (IPO) of LYFT, a U.S. ride-sharing service, is the first major debut placement of a unicorn company (capitalization over USD 1 bn) this year, with a market capitalization at $21 billion.

The strategic partnership between BCS Global Markets (“BCS GM”) and Tigress Financial Partners, a women owned and independent investment banking and brokerage firm, allowed BCS’ clients the opportunity to participate in this hi-tech U.S. business and to buy shares directly in the offering, allowing Russian and international clients exclusive access to the offering. Over the years, BCS has enabled its investors to participate in high quality IPOs in the Russian markets but this is the first time they have had access to the U.S.

The partnership follows the orderly development of the BCS Global Markets’ business in the U.S., which started in 2015, when the investment bank acquired a broker and dealer company with an office in New York. The U.S. division of BCS Global Markets – BCS Americas, is predominantly focused on finding unique opportunities within the U.S. market – such as LYFT’s public offering, in order to strengthen the reach of BCS.

Gary Esayian, Director, CEO, BCS Americas, Inc. commented: BCS Global Markets has been following the U.S. market closely and has been waiting for an opportunity of this calibre. We are delighted to have offered our clients the exciting opportunity to be able to participate in a hi-tech business, such as LYFT. Our strategic partnership with Tigress Financial Partners enabled us to provide our clients with unique access to major U.S. IPOs.
BCS is planning to partake in other similar transactions over the course of this year, as our U.S. strategy has proven to be efficient and has successfully brought tangible results for our clients.