Stripe Reportedly Looking to Raise $4 Billion Via Special Vehicle
Stripe is reportedly in the process of raising $4 billion from investors.
Bloomberg reported Thursday (Feb. 23) that the payment platform is working with banks to make the offering through a special vehicle for investment that is devoted to Stripe, gives access to wealthy investors before the company goes public, and allows the company to remain private for a longer period of time.
Stripe is looking to raise the money so that it can enable veteran employees to sell stock that is now restricted and so that it can pay the taxes it will incur by doing so, according to the report.
The funding round that is now underway would value the company at $55 billion before the infusion of capital, the report said, citing unnamed sources.
Stripe did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported in January that the company was considering either going public or allowing employees to sell their shares within the next 12 months because, while it doesn’t need to raise capital, it has employees and other investors who would like to be able to sell their shares.
Days later, The Information reported that Stripe was nearing a deal to raise $3 billion from its existing investors that would value the payment platform at between $55 billion and $60 billion.
Similar to the WSJ, The Information said the company is pursuing the deal to give liquidity to employees who have promises of future shares, some of which are going to expire, while at the same time not wanting to rush into going public.
On Friday (Feb. 17), Bloomberg reported that Stripe was sharing data with potential investors that showed that the firm expects to process $1 trillion in payment volume this year — a figure that would be up from the $800 billion it processed in 2022.
The report noted that if that happens, Stripe would have reached the landmark figure in about 13 years, while PayPal did so in 2021 after 23 years.
According to the data shared with potential investors, Stripe’s payment volume increased 25% in 2022 after having grown 60% in 2021 — a reflection of the slowdown in the rate of eCommerce growth after the lifting of pandemic-era restrictions, the report said.