Swedish payments firm Trustly is preparing to launch a stock market flotation in the second quarter in a deal potentially valuing the private equity-backed group at up to 9 billion euros ($11 billion), people close to the matter said.
Buyout group Nordic Capital is working with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Carnegie on the initial public offering (IPO) and is in the process of mandating more banks with a view to launching the deal in late April or early May, they said.
Trustly, which is expected to float in Stockholm, may be valued at 6-8 billion euros, two of the people said, while another said it could fetch 7-9 billion.
Nordic Capital and the banks declined to comment.
The deal, which is subject to market conditions, would add to a string of technology listings in Europe expected this year as investors flock to tech stocks in strong equity markets.
The appeal of financial technology companies has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people shop online and make more of their payments digitally.
Elsewhere, payments firm Transferwise is preparing a stock market listing in Britain with the help of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, which could value it at significantly more than the $5 billion suggested by a 2020 fundraising, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Many financial technology companies simultaneously explore an IPO and a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which raises money in an IPO and then buys a private firm to give it a listing.
Last month, such a “blank-check” acquisition firm backed by veteran investor Bill Foley agreed to merge with Paysafe, valuing the payments platform at around $9 billion.
In a sign of the attractiveness of payments firms, shares of Canadian payment processing firm Nuvei jumped more than 30% on their debut in September and have now risen by 64% since their listing, giving it a market capitalisation of 10.4 billion Canadian dollars ($8.23 billion).
Shares of European peer Nexi have risen more than 20% over the last 12 months.
Trustly, founded in 2008 and with offices in Sweden, Spain, Malta, Germany and the United Kingdom, processes more than 4 million payments each month and posted 2019 revenues of 130 million euros.
Nordic Capital bought a 70% stake in the company in 2018 at a valuation of roughly 700 million euros and merged it with U.S.-based PayWithMyBank in 2019.
In June 2020, Trustly was reportedly valued at about $2 billion in a financing round that included BlackRock, Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), Aberdeen Standard Investments, Neuberger Berman, and Retirement System Investment Commission (RSIC).
Additional reporting by David French. Editing by Mark Potter
Source: Reuters