(Updated - February 28, 2024 1:34 PM EST)
Stripe has grown to a valuation of $65 billion, allowing some of its employees to sell their shares in the company, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal Wednesday.
The "tender offer" could give Stripe more flexibility for an IPO, which investors and analysts have anticipated for years. The WSJ noted that Stripe has been putting off an initial public offering for years.
Stripe and some of its investors agreed to buy over $1 billion of current and former Stripe employees’ shares, according to people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, citing people familiar with the matter, Stripe and some investors in the company have agreed to buy more than $1 billion of current and former Stripe employees’ shares.
It was not disclosed which investors participated in the round, however, according to the Wall Street Journal, Sequoia Capital and Goldman Sachs's growth equity fund were involved.
Following the news, Alan Vaksman, Founding Partner at Launchbay Capital said he believes "Stripe isn't likely trying to gauge investor interest for an eventual IPO via this share-sale deal for several reasons."
"First of all, the potential share price and valuation can be ascertained by looking at the recent secondary market trades, which we can see going through at 30USD per share and 63b valuation. As there’s enough liquidity in Stripe secondaries, those are quite a reliable indicator," Vaksman said. "Secondly, the public market investors and those participating in primary or secondary rounds are generally different, with some overlap.
Vaksman added that the deal allows the company to firmly secure growth in its valuation from $50 billion in March last year. "The deal will also reduce Stripe's pressure to IPO ASAP because the company has provided the liquidity to employees and early investors," he said. "Stripe turned profitable in 2023, and [a] further 1-2 years of such traction would allow for a higher valuation at an IPO."