Revolut Swings for the Fences; Plots $1.5B Fundraise
Revolut, the European challenger bank, prized fintech, and uber-hot unicorn, wants $1.5 billion.
Revolut’s fundraise, if successful, would achieve two momentous feats: A company valuation of $5 – $10 billion, and entry into the select club of startups that managed to raise $1 billion or more in a single funding round.
Leaving nothing to chance, Revolut has gone ahead and appointed investment banker JPMorgan to spearhead the raising. According to sources quoted by Sky News, its composition is an equity raise of $500 million and a convertible loan issue of $1 billion. According to sources, the loan will convert into shares if Revolut obtains a US banking license.
Founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky leads Revolut.
He has ambitious plans for Revolut and none yet for an IPO. “We are still very tiny to do an IPO. We need to be in the range of 20, 30, 40 billion [dollars] even to start considering it,” Storonsky said in a June interview with Financial News.
Fresh off a Visa deal
Revolut has just sewn up a global deal with Visa for a presence in 24 new countries. Revolut will issue Visa-branded cards in these countries, including Canada, Japan, Singapore, and the US. The deal means Revolut will boost its workforce by 3,500 heads to 5,000.
Can Storonsky pull off Revolut’s fundraise?
Given the recent debacle surrounding WeWork’s non-starter IPO, investors may be wary of ‘pie-in-the-sky’ valuations based only on growth but no profits.
Revolut’s revenues have been growing at a torrid pace but it is yet to report its first profit.
However, the digital challenger bank has solid backers including Balderton Capital, DST Global and Index Ventures.
[Related Story: Challenger Bank Revolut’s Losses Double As Costs Surge]
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