Locals protest in LA as Snap goes public

Record ID: 348074

  • Title: Locals protest in LA as Snap goes public
  • Date: 2nd March 2017
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 2, 2017) (REUTERS) WIDE OF PROTEST IN FRONT OF SNAP INC. HEADQUARTERS PROTESTER HOLDING ANTI-SNAPCHAT POSTERS MORE PROTESTERS SNAP EMPLOYEES STANDING IN FRONT OF HEADQUARTERS SIGN READING 'SNAP INC' MORE OF PROTESTERS SIGN READING 'VENICE IS NO OFFICE PARK' SIGN READING 'STOP SNAP' POLICE OFFICER POLICE CARS WITH PROTESTERS CRO
  • Embargoed: 16th March 2017 20:00
  • Keywords: snap snapchat protest Venice Beach Los Angeles
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA001669QQ87
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As Snap Inc. began trading on the New York Stock Exchange dozens of Venice Beach residents on Thursday (March 2) protested in front of the company's headquarters accusing the tech giant of destroying their community.
    About 2 dozens protesters holding up posters with slogans like 'Snaprat', 'StopSnap' and 'Venice Beach is not for sale' stood in front of one the many building the company has reportedly bought in the beach town.
    The protesters say the company is pricing out local businesses and inflating the local real estate market to prices that average people can't afford.
    "I'm here because Snapchat has been growing like a cancer here," said Bradford Eckhart, a resident of Venice beach for the past 20 years. "They are really affecting the heart of this community. If they stayed just in the office buildings it would be ok, but they're not," he added.
    The protesters accuse Snap of buying out whole blocks of real estate and illegally using many properties zoned as residential as office space. Another major point of contention with locals is the private security service the company employs which the protesters say block off public streets and turn what used to be a tourist destination into a technology campus.
    "I would rather see them get a campus," said Venice beach resident Barbara Londale. "This is a community, not a campus. I have friends that work at Google that are embarrassed by this," she added saying that Snap has so far bought 30 properties up against the Venice Beach boardwalk that use to house local bars and tourist attractions.
    Snap Inc. released the following statement in response to the protests on Thursday.
    Below is our comment. Please just attribute it as a statement issued by Snap Inc.
    "We don't just have our headquarters here; many of us also call Venice home. We've been very grateful to be a part of this creative community for over the last four years and we've worked closely with local schools and nonprofits to be a good neighbor. No one could have anticipated how quickly we've grown, and we have already begun focusing our future growth outside of Venice."
    Snap Inc. raised $3.4 billion in its initial public offering on Wednesday night, more than the $3 billion Facebook offered to pay for the company in 2013, and saw its market capitalization bubble up to as much as $29.1 billion.
    With a full greenshoe option to issue more shares likely to be exercised, the company is poised to increase its deal size to $3.9 billion.
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