Chicago is set to witness its first tech company IPO in five years.
Sprout Social, a Chicago-based maker of social media management software, announced Monday that it aims to raise $156 million in an initial public offering of stock. The company plans to debut by selling nearly 9 million shares at $16 to $18 per share. The time and date are still TBD.
When Sprout goes public, it could generate a big windfall for some well-known tech investors in town – namely Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, two co-founders of Groupon whose venture fund has a 21% stake in Sprout.
In other Chicago-area news:
Fiat Chrysler has clinched a new tentative labor contract with the United Auto Workers union. Bloomberg reports the deal was driven in part by Fiat’s decision to double up on a major investment in U.S. production announced earlier this year.
Fiat has agreed not to close assembly plants during the life of the contract and to invest in its factory in Belvidere, Illinois. That facility, just east of Rockford, makes Jeep Cherokee SUVs and employs almost 3,700 hourly workers.
The fate of the Belvidere plant had been in doubt because the company eliminated a third shift there earlier this year, dismissing more than 1,300 workers.
And finally, Chicago real estate developer Habitat Company is moving forward with a proposed 33-story apartment tower in the Fulton River District, with plans to unveil the design at a meeting next week.
Habitat wants to build the high-rise at 344 N. Canal St., on the current site of Cassidy Tire & Service. The company will present its proposal for the first time publicly at a Dec. 9 meeting hosted by downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly, according to an email the 42nd Ward alderman sent recently to his constituents.
Crain’s Headlines is a joint production between WTTW and Crain’s Chicago Business. It airs every Monday through Thursday on the WTTW News program “Chicago Tonight.”
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