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Neobank Judo is looking to list on the Australian Stock Exchange following a $650 million initial public offering (IPO), valuing the company at approximately $2.3 billion.
As reported by Bloomberg and confirmed to Business News Australia by the bank, the IPO will be priced at $2.10 per share and the company has already attracted more than $515 million of commitments from large investors, with $135 million remaining to be purchased by institutional investors.
Once it lands on the boards in November, investors in the share sale will own about 28 per cent of the company.
In addition, Bloomberg reports the process involves a $309 million selldown by existing shareholders including Sing Glow Investment which will keep 7 per cent equity in Judo when it begins trading later this year.
Founded in 2016, Judo Bank initially made a splash in the world of neobanks, famously raising $400 million in 2019 - the largest in Australian history at the time.
That injection of capital allowed Judo to become a major player in the emerging fintech space of challenger banks, specialising in small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking.
In the thick of the first wave of the pandemic last year, the company received a $500 million investment from the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) - allowing it to provide credit to SMEs nationally.
The valuation of Judo at $2.3 billion is a leap from just four months ago when the challenger bank closed a $124 million Round 5 equity raise. At that time the bank was valued at $1.9 billion.
The Round 5 was completed in “record time” according to co-founder and co-CEO David Hornery, with strong support given from existing shareholders.
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