{"id":107327,"date":"2021-01-05T18:46:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T18:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=107327"},"modified":"2021-01-05T18:46:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T18:46:10","slug":"fintech-startup-affirm-aims-for-over-9-billion-valuation-in-u-s-ipo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/fintech-startup-affirm-aims-for-over-9-billion-valuation-in-u-s-ipo\/","title":{"rendered":"Fintech startup Affirm aims for over $9 billion valuation in U.S. IPO"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Reuters) -Affirm Holdings Inc, founded by PayPal Holdings Inc co-founder Max Levchin, is aiming for a valuation of over $9 billion in its initial public offering, the lending startup said in a filing on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Affirm said it plans to price its shares, to be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker \u2018AFRM\u2019, between $33 and $38 each and raise as much as $935 million from the sale.<\/p>\n
The projected valuation of the company would represent a more than three-fold jump from its last private funding round, when it was valued at a shade less than $3 billion, according to PitchBook.<\/p>\n
The fintech venture had planned to complete its IPO before the end of last year, but was forced to delay the share float by a few weeks.<\/p>\n
Levchin started Affirm in 2012 to give people without credit history or savings accounts access to small loans. The startup offers financing for online purchases such as a couch or guitar, that can be paid back in monthly installments.<\/p>\n
Affirm\u2019s major investors include Peter Thiel\u2019s Founders Fund, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, Scottish asset manager Baillie Gifford, venture capital firm Spark Capital and Fidelity Management and Research Company LLC.<\/p>\n
Affirm\u2019s offering kicks off what is expected to be yet another frenetic IPO season for U.S. capital markets.<\/p>\n
A number of high-profile private firms and \u201cunicorn\u201d startups such as Robinhood, Instacart and Coinbase are expected to debut on U.S. stock exchanges later this year.<\/p>\n
Companies raised a record $167.63 billion in the United States in 2020, according to Dealogic data. In comparison, $108 billion was raised in 1999, the previous record for capital raised through new issues.<\/p>\n
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co are the lead underwriters for Affirm\u2019s offering.<\/p>\n