IAC, the internet holding company that owns Vimeo, announced Tuesday it plans to spin off the popular video-streaming platform into its own, publicly traded company.
News of the spinoff first cropped up last month after Vimeo raised $150 million from outside investors to expand internationally and grow the software licensing business. The company says business has been booming in 2020, and it is now reportedly valued at more than $2.7 billion — 10 times the company’s revenue.
“The combination of Vimeo’s remarkable growth, solid leadership position, and enormous market opportunity have made clear its future,” IAC CEO Joey Levin said in a statement. “It’s time for Vimeo to spread its wings and become a great independent public company.”
Founded in 2004, Vimeo first came on the scene as a rival to YouTube. It has since shifted its business model, and now provides a suite of video tools for companies like Amazon, Starbucks and Siemens. It has also become the go-to platform for powering virtual live events amid the pandemic. The L.A. Dance Project, for example, used Vimeo to stream its dance classes. Columbia University used the platform to hold its 2020 commencement ceremony.
Now, Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud foresees a bright future, and anticipates the company’s ability to help make high-quality videos affordably will continue to be in high demand.
“Today we have a rare opportunity to help every team and organization in the world integrate video throughout their operations, across all the ways they communicate and collaborate,” Sud said in a statement. “We’re ready for this next chapter and focused on making video easier and more effective than ever before.”
In the meantime, IAC says it plans to hold a stockholder meeting in early 2021 to review and approve the proposal to implement the spinoff. If it is approved, the spinoff is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2021.
