UK card reader company SumUp is exploring a stock market listing that could value the business at $10bn to $15bn and offer the London Stock Exchange a rare boost.
The London-based fintech is weighing up an initial public offering in either London or New York, according to two people familiar with the company’s view. They added that it had been discussing the plans with investment banks, and was aiming to float in the next year.
One person said SumUp’s founders would remain the largest shareholders, and that it was aiming for a $10bn-$15bn valuation. SumUp is hoping to raise cash to buy up competitors.
One person familiar with the company’s thinking said it believed the payment processing market was ripe for consolidation, particularly in Europe. In 2022, SumUp raised €590mn in a fundraising round led by private equity group Bain Capital that valued it at €8bn. It had targeted a valuation of €20bn.
Last year, Reuters reported that SumUp was working with Goldman Sachs on a secondary share sale that it hoped would value the business at $9bn. SumUp’s chief financial officer, Hermione McKee, said in 2023 that there was no rush for the company to IPO.
The news comes amid a wave of investor interest in UK fintechs. The Financial Times has recently reported that Starling is gearing up for a secondary share sale that could value it at £4bn and that Revolut is in talks with investment firm Coatue over a new fundraising round.
A UK IPO by SumUp would also deliver a rare win for the London Stock Exchange, which has had to contend with a three-year listings drought: lower valuations compared with the US have prompted UK companies to debut there or to shift their listings.
UK-based money transfer company Wise is in the process of relisting in the US. Klarna, while the Swedish buy-now-pay-later group, listed in the US this month. SumUp was founded by Marc-Alexander Christ, Stefan Jeschonnek, Jan Deepen and Daniel Klein in 2012.
It makes card readers for use by small- and medium-sized businesses, and has 4mn customers in 36 countries. It also provides business accounts and invoicing services.
Last year, it had a target of €160mn in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, a measure of profitability.
Source: https://www.ft.com/
