Sweden’s iZettle seeks to raise $226.6mn in IPO

Bloomberg

Swedish fintech company iZettle AB announced its intention to file for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange.
The company, which competes with Square Inc. and Canada’s Shopify Inc, is seeking to raise 2 billion kronor ($226.6 million) and in a statement on Tuesday said it expected its IPO to be completed this year.
Carnegie Investment Bank AB and JP Morgan Securities Plc will act as joint global coordinators and bookrunners, with Barclays Bank Plc also assisting as bookrunner.
“The IPO will provide us with improved access to capital markets to facilitate our continued growth and help us strengthen our profile with merchants, key business partners and in the fierce competition for talent,” iZettle Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jacob de Geer said in the statement. iZettle’s share listing, which is expected to consist of the issuance of new and secondary shares, would come as regulators across Europe develop policies to drive technological innovation and digital development in financial services to spur competition with incumbent banks.
Bloomberg in December reported that the company had been open to a sale as an alternative to an IPO, in a so-called dual-track process, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans at the time. De Geer confirmed on Tuesday this is not a strategy it will be taking.
No Dual Track
“We’re not pursuing a dual-track listing and we’re fully focused on the plan we announced today,” the CEO said on Tuesday via email.
Founded in 2010 by De Geer and Magnus Nilsson, Stockholm-based iZettle began helping small businesses accept credit card payments using a gadget that attached to a smartphone, similar to that offered by Square, and has since expanded into software and financing services to support small business.
Armed with 40 million euros ($47.7 million) in recent funding, iZettle now offers tools to manage inventory, product data and analytics for users to improve their businesses as well as lending to help them grow in physical stores and online.
“One of the themes that initially led us to invest in iZettle in the first place is the concept of the stack of software and services that small businesses now need in order to compete with Amazon,” said Ben Holmes, a partner at Index Ventures, an investor in iZettle since 2011.