Stripe, the global payments giant founded by the Collison brothers from Limerick, is buying up more than $1 billion (€0.92 billion) in employee shares as part of a deal that values the fintech at $65 billion.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Wednesday that Stripe and some of its investors have agreed to buy more than $1 billion of current and former Stripe employees’ shares, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal will value Stripe at $65 billion, up from its $50 billion valuation nearly a year ago, but significantly below its $95 billionvaluation in 2021.
Investors participating include venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital and Goldman Sachs’ growth equity fund.
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Stripe said in a statement that using a portion of its own capital to buy the shares will offset dilution from the firm’s employee equity compensation programmes.
“We’re pleased to once again offer employees an opportunity for liquidity,” chief financial officer Steffan Tomlinson said.
“Our business continues to see strong momentum with the most advanced companies in the world,” he added.
Stripe made similar deal last March, when investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Temasek agreed to buy more than $6.5 billion of Stripe stock.
Founded by brothers John and Patrick Collison in 2010, Stripe helps retailers process consumer payments and has grown significantly since its founding.
Unlike many financial-technology companies with similar brand recognition, Stripe hasn’t yet opted for an initial public offering, remaining a private company.
With this latest deal, the Wall Street Journal said Stripe appears likely to delay a flotation until at least 2025.
Stripe’s latest annual letter noted that the company processed more than $817 billion in payments volume in 2022, up 26 per cent on 2021 figures, although a deceleration on growth seen during 2020 and 2021.
The company’s European arm saw losses balloon from $26.7 million in 2021 to $209.9 million in 2022, with a rise in both turnover and cost of sales put down to growth in business from existing users, expansion into new markets, launching new products in the region and an increase in user adoption in existing markets.
– Additional reporting: Bloomberg
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