Affirm files IPO application, but financials are confidential
Affirm, the San-Francisco buy now, pay later (BNPL) fintech, has officially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO), Reuters reports.
The filing itself is confidential. This means no financial information – i.e. how many shares on offer, or the floating valuation – is known.
Fintechs in the BNPL space have seen their valuations rocket and pockets burst with new funding rounds this year
The fintech says the decision not to publish the financials around the IPO is down to undecided final figures.
$10 billion valuation?
The start-up is looking at a valuation of up to $10 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which first broke the news that Affirm was mulling an IPO.
The start-up, founded by PayPal creator Max Levchin, is working with Goldman Sachs on the listing, according WSJ sources.
In April 2019, the point-of-sale (PoS) lender sat at just a $2.9 billion valuation. WSJ sources say the valuation aim lies somewhere between $5 billion and $10 billion.
Affirm’s primary investors include VCs Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Fidelity Investments.
Founded in 2012, Affirm’s business offers shoppers the ability to pay for goods in instalments via short-term loans.
The company’s financing option is visible on the checkout pages online for big brands like Walmart and Expedia Group.
Shopify will soon be added to this list, with Affirm announced as its BNPL partner earlier this year.
The success of BNPL model
Fintechs in the BNPL space have seen their valuations rocket and pockets burst with new funding rounds this year.
Klarna closed its $650 million in an equity funding round in September, at a post money valuation of $10.6 billion.
The Swedish-based BNPL firm has doubled its value. It was previously set at $5.5 billion just over a year ago.
Splitit, an Aussie BNPL fintech, has landed $71.5 million to tap the US and UK.
The start-up, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), rivals fellow Aussie fintech, Afterpay. Tencent bought a 5% stake in Afterpay in May.
Afterpay’s share price has shot up since mid-March. Sitting at $8.90 per share on 23 March, stock soared to a high of $75.05 on 21 July. The fintech has a market capitalisation of $19.8 billion.
Sezzle, a US-founded BNPL fintech, announced in July that it was raising AUD 86.3 million ($62.3m) on the ASX.
