As a company with plans to continue to exist independently for the long-term, we have several options for liquidity events.

Given that 1) we’ve chosen to give the team ownership in the form of stock options, 2) we will consider dividends in the future, and 3) we are not seeking an exit, this leads us to regular liquidity events being our choice to enable shareholders to realize value in their ownership. For background on this decision, read about How we’re approaching liquidity as a long term company.

Tender Offer

A tender offer is a structured liquidity event that typically allows multiple sellers (including employees and early investors) to sell their shares either to another investor, a group of investors, or back to the company at a predetermined price. In short, it’s a potential way for shareholders to sell their shares while the company is still private.

Here are some of the benefits of tender offers for each participant:

• The sellers (employees and early investors) monetize their equity and realize returns.
• The buyers (either investors or the company itself) receive equity in a company they’d like to invest in (if the buyer is an investor) or reduce dilution (if the buyer is the company itself).

Tender offers are a popular way to satisfy early investors and reward longtime employees of private companies by offering them liquidity.

There are two types of Tender Offers:

1. Corporate repurchases/share buybacks: In a share buyback, the company repurchases shares from its shareholders—typically, employees, investors, and (in some cases) former employees.
2. Third-party tender offers: In a third-party tender offer, the company allows investors to purchase shares from existing shareholders.

In 2021, we executed a third-party tender offer.

Stock Buyback through Cashless Exercise