Video game developer Roblox has raised more than $520 million in private financing ahead of a planned listing.
The company confirmed the transaction Thursday, adding that it planned to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a listing soon.
Roblox has yet to announce a time for its listing but sources with knowledge of the matter said a deal could be announced very soon.
The commission approved a new rule allowing companies to raise capital while they are listed on public markets. In Roblox's case, the company had raised capital before its listing.
The company, which generates all of its profits from its self-titled children's online video game, officially filed to go public late last year. Roblox said it planned to follow companies like Slack and Palantir by selling its shares in a direct listing. The company will be able to let existing shareholders and employees sell stock to new investors.
Roblox's latest financing was led by Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group. Based on the amount raised and shares sold, Roblox now has a private valuation of around $29.5 billion. Its current valuation is now about seven times that of its valuation during its last funding in February.
In its latest commission filing Roblox said it planned to raise an additional $30 million before its direct listing.
Altimeter Capital's chief executive officer Brad Gerstner previously said Roblox's decision to go with a direct listing would likely set a new trend that will disrupt traditional initial public offerings. He said companies now had a "menu of options" to choose from apart from traditional initial public offerings - including SPACs and direct listings.
"That means lower costs to companies, which is better for employees and it means a lot fairer access to retail investors," Gerstner said.
Roblox's game, which was released in 2006, saw an increase in users last year as children were forced to stay at home during the pandemic. In its latest prospectus, the company said its daily active users had more than doubled during its latest quarter to more than 36.2 million.
