GrubHub shares soar on debut, up 40% in early trading

Online food ordering company GrubHub had a dream start to its initial public offering, surging more than 40 percent in early trading to $37 per share. GrubHub had priced its 6.4 million shares at $26 Thursday, with the company raising $200 million in the deal. The company is promising and delivering strong growth to investors, which seems to have been reciprocated with a strong showing by tech investors. The company generated $137.1 million in 2013, 67 percent higher than the last year. The company is profitable, making $6.7 million last year, differentiating it from many other loss-making companies going public. At current levels the company is valued at $2.8 billion. The company was formed last year through a merger of Chicago-based GrubHub and New York-based Seamless, and was named GrubHub Seamless. Last year, the company attracted 3.4 million "Active Diners" and more than 28,000 affiliated restaurants. The company is facing a potential lawsuit by a software company in San Diego that claims GrubHub and other online ordering companies are violating patents related to online order-synching technology and online menus.