Navan advances with IPO during shutdown and seeks valuation of US$6.45 billion

Corporate travel management company Navan – formerly known as TripActions – has filed updated IPO documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, even though the federal government is currently closed.

Navan is acting under new SEC rules that allow aspiring publicly traded companies that are in limbo during the shutdown to file updated information, including share counts and prices, and have their statements automatically approved within 20 days without staff scrutiny. Once the registrations are declared effective, Navan will be able to begin its roadshow. The rule, however, does not mean that employees cannot ask questions or demand changes to records later.

Navan declined to comment to TechCrunch about its updated IPO documents.

The prevailing idea was that the shutdown would cool and possibly freeze an IPO market that was just beginning to thaw. Even with this rule, many companies would rather get the green light from an employee than go it alone, sources said. Bloomberg. So the tech world will be watching how Navan’s bet works.

Navan’s updated filing shows the company plans to sell 30 million shares, with insiders selling a further 7 million. Its price ranged between US$24 and US$26. In the high-end segment, the company would raise more than US$960 million and be valued at US$6.45 billion. Navan is backed by Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, Zeev Ventures and Greenoaks.

Navan generated 12-month cumulative revenue of $613 million (a 32 percent increase), with losses of $188 million, according to the updated document.