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Highlights
- US-based digital payments company Stripe is planning an IPO in 2022
- It is one of the biggest private companies in the world and one of the most highly anticipated upcoming IPOs
- Stripe had a valuation of almost US$ 100 billion in its most recent round of fundraising, in March earlier this year
US-based digital payments firm Stripe is mulling an initial public offering (IPO) and is currently holding early stage talks with investment bankers, according to some media reports.
Stripe’s pre-IPO valuation
The fintech company is reportedly considering if it should take the IPO or direct listing route at present and might go public in 2022, as per reports. Also, the company’s listing plans, including timing, could change.
The company was last valued at a whopping US$ 95 billion after raising US$ 600 million in its March capital raising round this year.
It’s almost US$ 100 billion valuation propelled it into becoming the highest valued US startup firm, according to tech market intelligence platform CB insights.
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Stripe is also the second-largest valuable private company in the world, after Tiktok, which was last valued at US$ 104 billion, after receiving investment from investment company Tiger Global Management in March last year.
This huge pre-IPO valuation has created a buzz around the company, making it among one of the most highly valued private companies in the world and among one of the most hotly anticipated upcoming IPOs.
The company’s valuation jumped from its previous valuation of US$ 36 billion, which was arrived at after completing a Series G capital raising extension round in April last year.
The company, which was founded in 2009, is owned by Irish billionaire brothers John and Patrick Collison, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and investment firm General Capital amongst others.
The Collison brothers are Stripe’s founders and are estimated to have a combined net worth of about US$ 11.4 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Sequoia Capital and General Capital had also been part of Stripe’s capital raising rounds, although the equity percentage split details are currently not publicly disclosed.
Stripe on a hiring spree
The fintech firm is also planning to hire hundreds of more staffers at its London office ahead of its potential IPO. The company currently has about 200 employees at the office. The expansion is also part of the company’s strategy to have a larger presence in Europe.
Stripe also plans to hire hundreds of software engineers at its Dublin office in the coming years.
Stripe reported its 2020 revenues at US$ 1.6 billion and had over 4,000 payrolled employees. Also, the fintech firm’s latest earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stands at US$ 120 million, indicating that it is currently profitable.
However, the company does not offer detailed financial information to help compare its financial performance against previous years.
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Bottom Line
Tech IPOs have seen a massive boom during the pandemic, especially the fintech sub-sector.
About 19 per cent of global unicorn status private companies belong to the fintech sector, making it the most well represented sector amongst tech unicorns, according to recent data from CB insights. Stripe has benefitted greatly during the pandemic due to a boom in online shopping.
