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The Markets
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The Markets
by Proactive
Proactive UK has moved.
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Financial Services

Wise confirms £7bn London listing to go ahead in coming weeks

The fintech unicorn won't be debuting the market with an IPO like it usually happens

Wise PLC confirmed it plans to pursue a direct listing in London in early July.

The payments group is expected to be valued around £7bn, with bullish forecasts going as high as £9bn.

READ: Why Wise's market debut is a listing like no other

It would be the first such listing in the City which, compared to a traditional IPO, means no new shares are created and the existing stock will be directly offered to public investors.

The shares will be first given to the stock exchange which will then put them up for an ‘auction’.

The idea is to avoid intermediaries, who usually drum up interest ahead of the IPO to set its price.

Wise's business model is to cut out intermediaries by allowing customers move money internationally without the hefty fees required from banks.

The fintech unicorn has opened a customer shareholder programme, OwnWise, whereby up to 100,000 customers can buy shares and, if they hold them for 12 months, will receive bonus shares representing 5% of the value of their existing stake, for a maximum value of £100.

They are also being tempted with non-cash prizes such as tickets to conferences and early access to new features and products.

Chief executive and co-founder Kristo Kärmann said on Thursday over 60,000 customers have expressed interest in the programme.

The startup plans to have a dual-class share structure to “support Wise's focus on its mission as it transitions into the public markets”.

However, previous floats of this kind have proven controversial as management retain a high level of control over the shares.

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