IPO Watch: MadPaws lists on the ASX; shares climb 40 per cent

MadPaws (ASX:MPA) has completed its IPO and listed on the ASX this morning.

The company was founded in 2014 and is a pet care market place offering services including pet sitting and pet food subscription.

It has a database of over 19,000 pet service providers and has seen over 450,000 sign up.

Investors in the company include Bombora, Qantas (ASX:QAN) and the CEO of Airtasker (ASX:ART) Tim Fung.

The MadPaws IPO raised $12 million at 20 cents per share.

The stock debuted at 11am at a listing ceremony that saw the ASX bell run by the company’s dog Ollie (according to the company, the first dog to do so).

MadPaws shares opened at 28 cents – a 40 per cent premium to the IPO price.
 

MadPaws (ASX:MPA) share price chart

‘What carsales is to the car space, we want to be for the pet space’

Having completed its IPO, Mad Paws is hoping to capitalise on the growing demand for pet care services in Australia.

There are at least 29 million pets in Australia and 40 per cent of Australian households have at least one dog. Globally, Morgan Stanley estimates pet ownership has tripled since COVID-19 broke out.

Mad Paws is hoping to use the capital from its ASX listing to fund further growth, cement its market position and raise its public profile.

Co-founder Jan Pacas didn’t hold back in his long-term ambitions for the company

“We don’t see today as an end, we see today as a beginning,” he declared at the listing ceremony.

“When you think of what Carsales (ASX:CAR) is to the car space, [REA Group (ASX:REA)] is to the real estate space – we want to be for the pet space.”