Affirm Holdings Inc., which provides installment loans to online buyers, valued its U.S. IPO above its marketed range to raise $ 1.2 billion.
In the first major U.S. tech list this year, Affirm sold 24.6 million shares for $ 49 each, according to a statement Wednesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The San Francisco-based company had marketed the shares for $ 41 to $ 44 each, a range it raised from $ 33 to $ 38 on Monday.
The IPO gives Affirm a market value of $ 11.9 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fully diluted valuation of the company, including options and restricted stock units, is approximately $ 15 billion.
Affirm is the first of several companies to go public this week after a hot year for IPOs in 2020 led by Airbnb Inc. and DoorDash Inc. Online Marketplace for Used Luxury Goods Poshmark Inc., pet supplies retailer Petco Animal Supplies Inc., mobile game developer Playtika Holdings Inc. and automotive supply and service company Driven Brands Holdings Inc. is all on the deck for IPOs.
Photographer: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg
Affirm was founded in 2012 by Max Levchin, who also co-founded PayPal Holdings Inc. Levchin is the company’s largest shareholder, according to filings. Other large owners include Jasmine Ventures, a fund affiliated with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC Pte, with Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Shopify Inc.
More than 6,500 traders use Affirm’s platform, according to its prospectus.
For the third quarter, Affirm recorded a net loss of $ 15 million on revenue of $ 174 million, compared with a loss of $ 31 million on revenue of $ 88 million during the same period in 2019, according to its filing.
Home practice business Peloton Interactive Inc. was Affirm’s largest business partner by far, accounting for 30% of its total third quarter revenue. Its top 10 merchants, including Peloton, produced about 37% of Affirm’s revenue during the period, creating the risk that its business would be affected by the loss of one of those partners, according to the filing.
Affirm postponed its IPO until December alongside game developer Roblox Inc., which has since decided to pursue a direct listing.
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Allen & Co. led the IPO of Affirm. Its shares are expected to start trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker AFRM.
(Updates with official statement in second paragraph.)
