👉 Background: So, BuzzFeed is the online news and entertainment company behind all those quirky quizzes and listicles. Ya know... like '25 ways to tell if you're a 90s kid'.

👉 What happened: BuzzFeed went public via a special purpose acquisition merger last year, but its post-IPO life has been more than a little rocky. The company's had to cut its workforce, it lost key staff, and called for buyouts in its new divisions.

👉 What else: Now, BuzzFeed's stock has tanked 40% after lockup arrangements just expired. That takes its market cap below what the company was bought for in 2011!

What's the key learning?

💡 An IPO lock-up is the period of time that major shareholders need to hold on to their shares post-IPO. In other words, they aren't allowed to sell their shares until that IPO lock-up period expires.

💡 Lockups help ensure the market isn't flooded with extra shares for sale just after a company goes public. Ya know, stop those investors who wanna ride the IPO explosion on day one and disappear into the night.

💡BUT when the lockup expires, it's a free-for-all. Because BuzzFeed hasn’t really delivered performance-wise… pre-IPO shareholders were keen to get out before things got worse. Hence the mass sell-off 🤷🏼‍♀️.

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