Roku aims to raise $252 million with IPO

NEW YORK – Video streaming pioneer Roku hopes to raise just over $252 million in an initial public offering as it tries to expand into more households.

The Los Gatos, California, company on Monday said it would offer about 18 million shares of stock at $14 apiece.

The company had 15.1 million active accounts as of June 30 and claims that its users streamed more than 6.7 billion hours over the six-month period ending June 30.

Roku is still unprofitable and has amassed $244 million in losses since it was founded in 2002. The company generates most of its revenue from selling its streaming players, but it’s increasingly bringing in money from advertising and commissions from subscriptions and other transactions made on its devices.

Roku’s growth strategy also includes boosting its content offerings.

Increasingly, Roku is competing with Amazon, Google and Apple as streaming video becomes a more popular option among people looking to cut the cord and move away from traditional cable service. Roku has emerged as the U.S. market leader in streaming players, with a 37 percent share during the first three months of this year, according to the market research firm Park Associates. Amazon Fire TV ranked second with a 24 percent market share, followed by Google’s Chromecast at 18 percent and Apple TV at 15 percent.

Most of Roku is currently owned by Anthony Wood, its founder and CEO, and Menlo Ventures, a venture capital firm. Wood, who previously invented one of the first digital video recorders, owns a 28 percent stake in Roku and Menlo Ventures has a 35 percent stake.