Zipcar Seeks $75 Million IPO To Pay Off Debts

Technology-driven car sharing and rental service provider Zipcar this morning announced that it has filed an S-1 with the SEC relating to a proposed IPO of shares of its common stock.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined, but the filing reveals a target of $75 million.

Zipcar expects to use the net proceeds of the public offering to pay down certain indebtedness, and for general corporate purposes if any remain. The proposed offering will be managed by Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan.

Revolution Living, Benchmark Capital Partners, Greylock Partners and Smedvig Capital hold a notable stake in the company.

Zipcar was incorporated in Delaware in January 2000 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It currently provides over 400,000 members with self-service vehicles, and operates its membership-based business in 13 major metropolitan areas and on more than 150 college campuses in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The company has reported net losses year after year, and acknowledges that the car sharing market is still nascent and that it may not be able to turn profitable by 2011 and beyond. For the three months ended March 31, 2010, the company incurred net loss of $5.3 million and reported revenue of $33.24 million.

In the filing, Zipcar also shared that it’s actively looking for more acquisitions in the space: the company has earlier merged with rival Flexcar (in 2007) and UK-based Streetcar (April 2010).