Could This Payments Company Be the Biggest IPO Ever?
2020 was an insane year for companies going public. Boosted by the tremendous demand for technology and electric vehicle stocks, not to mention the frenzy of blank-check SPAC companies, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the U.S. doubled to 494, raising a collective $174 billion, which was up 150% from the prior year, according to FactSet. High-profile companies like Snowflake, Airbnb, and Rocket Companies received an enthusiastic reception from investors.
Still, there was one high-profile holdout: fintech payment processor Stripe. Last August, Stripe sent speculation into overdrive when the company announced it had poached CFO Dhivya Suryadevara from General Motors to assume the same role at the start-up. At the time, it was widely expected the company was in the final stages of prepping for a public debut. Instead, the company recently tapped the private markets for $600 million at a valuation of $95 billion.
That valuation made Stripe the most valuable U.S. start-up, pushing the company past other buzzy names like the Elon Musk-led SpaceX and grocery delivery service Instacart. However, this newest fundraising effort could put founders Patrick and John Collison on the way to the biggest IPO ever.
Source Fool.com
