Liftoff Mobile: From Postponed IPO to $503m Raise and 24% First-Day Pop

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US-based mobile app marketing company Liftoff Mobile (NASDAQ: LFTO) has listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, raising ~$503m through the sale of 21.85 million shares at $23 each, including 2.85 million shares from the full exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option. The offer price of $23 per share came in above the targeted range of $20 to $22 apiece. The offering values the company at a market capitalization of $3.89B and a pro-forma Enterprise Value of $5.0B, incorporating IPO proceeds applied to debt repayment. Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Morgan Stanley served as joint lead book-running managers, with Barclays, RBC Capital Markets, UBS Investment Bank, Wells Fargo Securities, William Blair, Deutsche Bank Securities, PJT Partners, Wolfe | Nomura Alliance, BTIG, Needham & Company, and Raymond James acting as joint book-running managers. General Atlantic allocated approximately 1.3 million common shares. Liftoff intends to use approximately $413.8m of the proceeds to repay outstanding debt under its new term loan facility, which matures in 2032, with the remainder directed to general corporate purposes.The strength of the debut is particularly notable, given that this was Liftoff’s second attempt to go public in 2026. In Feb’26, the company postponed an earlier IPO targeting $26 to $30 per share and up to $762m in gross proceeds. The decision came as the sector entered a sharp selloff that would see the S&P 500 Software Industry index fall approximately 25% from its early January peak of ~8,008 points to ~6,027 points. Investor concerns over AI’s disruptive impact on software companies were among the factors at play, with Liftoff’s peers AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) and Unity (NYSE: U) falling ~45% and ~64%, respectively, from their January peaks to their February lows. The company refiled confidentially and returned to market more than three and a half months later, by which point the index had recovered approximately 24% to ~7,492 points. The improved market backdrop was reflected in the outcome: Liftoff shares were priced at $23 and surged 23.7% on the first day of trading, closing at $28.45 on Jun 4, 2026.

Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has been Liftoff’s controlling shareholder since acquiring a majority stake in Dec’20 for $400m, retaining approximately 50.4% of voting power following the IPO and qualifying Liftoff as a “controlled company” under NASDAQ governance rules. The Oct’21 merger with Vungle significantly expanded the platform, creating one of the largest independent mobile app growth platforms that covers user acquisition, engagement, monetization, and analytics. Over the last few years, the company delivered strong operational performance, driven by the rollout of Cortex, an internally developed neural network-based AI prediction model that began in Q4’23, replacing legacy linear regression and processing approximately 21x as much data as its predecessor. The transition drove ten consecutive quarters of Core Advertising revenue growth, averaging over 8% per quarter. On the path to the listing, Liftoff completed a May’25 minority stake sale to General Atlantic at a $4.3B enterprise value, providing an early valuation reference point and representing a $700m step-up to the current IPO EV of $5.0B.As the chart above illustrates, the company’s revenue and EBITDA grew at ~20% and ~22% CAGRs, respectively, over 2023–2025, with the acceleration particularly visible from 2024 onward. The momentum has continued into 2026: in Q1’26, Liftoff reported 37% YoY revenue growth and a 53% EBITDA margin. As of Mar 31, 2026, the platform served 878 demand-side customers, reached over 1.4 billion daily active users, and generated LTM Core Advertising Net Dollar Retention of 130%. Notably, slightly more than half of Q1’26 advertiser revenue came from verticals outside gaming, reflecting a deliberate push to diversify beyond the company’s original focus.

We will continue to monitor Liftoff’s post-IPO trajectory, Blackstone’s management of its controlling stake, and whether the Cortex flywheel continues to compound at the pace seen over the past ten quarters.