Stripe Considers Public Offering, Taps Goldman Sachs & JPMorgan for Advice

Financial services and software as a service company Stripe Inc is reportedly mulling a public offering in the next 12 months. Reportedly, the popular internet payment processor has enlisted the services of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) for advice. Stripe wants the banking giants to advise on the direct listing or private-market transactions involving employees’ shares within the next year. This development also implies that the company’s executives look to take the company public or allow employees to sell shares in private transactions.

A potential Stripe public offering could be one of the most significant public-market debuts in recent memory. This prospect is because Stripe already ranks among Silicon Valley’s most valuable startups. Furthermore, the company’s management is unlikely to opt for a traditional initial public offering (IPO) because it does not need to raise extra capital. Instead, Stripe will likely pursue a direct listing where it places existing shares on a public bourse for the market to decide the price. This strategy also lends credence to the company’s belief in itself as an established internet payment facilitator throughout Silicon Valley.

Potential Stripe Public Offering Comes 14 Years After Company’s Inception

Established in 2009 by Irish entrepreneurs Patrick and John Collison, Stripe offers payment processing solutions to several major internet companies. These include Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) and Instacart Inc.

In 2021, Stripe raised $600 million at a $95 billion valuation, which made it one of the world’s most valuable startups. At the time of the fundraiser, the company’s investors included Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency and Fidelity Investments. In addition, Stripe also saw investment from leading insurers Allianz and AXA.

Although at the forefront of 2010s-era startups that grew into colossal tech platforms, Stripe long preferred to remain private. Furthermore, the Irish-American dual-headquartered company also disclosed few exterior details about its performance. Over the years, this trend created high desirability among investors who angled to buy into Stripe but did not have a chance.

Soaring inflation, rising interest rates, and recession fears have sparked a broader selloff of tech stocks in the past year. The stocks of newly public companies in the tech space are affected mainly by this unsavory trend. Furthermore, several startups that previously harbored plans to go public have been forced to shelve such an agenda.

Stripe Relationship with Digital Currencies

Despite its reputation as an internet payment processor, Stripe has displayed ambivalence toward digital assets for at least eight years. In 2015, the Dublin and South San Francisco-based company announced it would accept Bitcoin (BTC). At the time, this development meant that Stripe users could send and receive the leading token as they would fiat currencies. However, the company halted its BTC services three years later in 2018, with its founders giving a perceived practical reason. According to the Collison brothers, Bitcoin is better applicable as an asset or store of value rather than a medium of exchange.