Anthropic IPO: $70-$80 share price sent to banks, then retracted
A filing showing Anthropic selling about 867 million shares at $70 to $80, a raise of up to $69 billion, went to banks and was pulled hours later. What we know.
Details of Anthropic’s planned stock market listing briefly went out to banks on Monday, 9 November, and were then pulled back as “inaccurate”, Reuters reported, citing emails it had seen. The filing showed the maker of Claude aiming to sell about 867 million shares at $70 to $80 each. At the top of that range, that is about $69.3 billion, which would make it one of the biggest share sales in history.
What is new since our last report on the IPO’s valuation: for the first time, a price range and share count have surfaced, even if Anthropic now says they were wrong.
What happened?
A representative of Anthropic emailed a copy of a securities filing with the price range to bankers, then sent a follow-up saying the pricing details were inaccurate and the filing would be revised, according to Reuters. The Information reported that it was Anthropic’s outside counsel in Canada that sent banks an updated prospectus late on Monday and then retracted it. Anthropic declined to comment.
The same document reportedly showed that Anthropic had lined up about $26 billion of investment from big technology companies alongside the IPO. Reports named Google, Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Micron, Microsoft and TSMC. It is not clear whether the retraction changes that part.
When is the Anthropic IPO?
Reuters reported that Anthropic was expected to formally launch its roadshow, the series of pitches to investors, on Tuesday, with pricing expected the following week. Bloomberg reported that the company plans a live-streamed IPO presentation with chief executive Dario Amodei and JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon. A corrected filing with the real price range should come first.
Why the mix-up matters
In an IPO, the price range is the single most watched number: it tells the market what the company thinks it is worth. Sending the wrong one is embarrassing, but not unheard of, and the retraction came fast. The bigger questions for investors are the ones we covered last week: whether AI shares have run too far, and how much Anthropic’s huge spending on data centres will weigh on profits. CNBC’s Jim Cramer has said the listing could “make or break” the AI trade.
Can Pakistanis buy Anthropic shares?
Not directly at the IPO. Shares in a US listing go first to big institutions through the banks. After trading starts, Pakistanis can only buy US shares through foreign brokers within State Bank rules on sending money abroad, which are strict. This is information, not investment advice.
Watch for the corrected filing, which will show the real price range and how much of Anthropic is being sold.
