Tyro Payments, the Australian payment processor startup, is gearing up to raise as much as $500 million in an initial public offering that could take place in the coming months.
Earlier this month the fintech company announced it tapped JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to head up the IPO that could give it a valuation north of $1.5 billion. Depending on market conditions the public offering on the Australian Stock Exchange could happen in the next eighteen months.
Founded in 2003, Tyro Payments is the fifth biggest payments provider in Australia and the first fintech to get a banking license from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority in 2015. In addition to processing payments for merchants, it offers banking and lending products to businesses.
In July Tyro announced its intentions to tap the public markets, saying it was considering a listing to provide its more than 450 shareholders access to more liquidity and secure “other benefits” that come from being a publicly traded company. It said at the time the listing wouldn’t happen earlier than November of this year.
The move on the part of Tyro to start the IPO proceedings comes as the financial technology startup is undergoing it first rebranding since 2007. Designed to reflect its recent expansion beyond payments, it has adopted a new tagline “Better business banking” and launched an overhauled logo.
For the second half of last year, Tyro Payments posted revenue of $91.1 million and has a compound annual growth rate of 29% for the past six years. It is among a group of fintech companies that want to disrupt traditional banking here and abroad. These startups are offering digital banking services to consumers and businesses without all the fees. They are catering to a demographic that has long been ignored by the traditional banking sector. The digital-first business model is resonating with customers, which is why bank challengers are landing millions of members and hefty valuations by investors. If the IPO happens it could be among the biggest in Australia this year.
To prepare for its IPO last January Tyro Payments appointed Robbie Cooke CEO, who came from Tatts Group where he was CEO. Prior to that, he led Wotif.com where he was credited with scaling up the business and navigating a successful listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.
“I am really looking forward to leading the Tyro team through the next exciting stage of its journey and building on its energetic and innovative spirit. As a business bank providing fair, transparent and smart banking solutions in a truly customer-centric way, we have a real opportunity to build on the successes Tyro has achieved to date,” Cooke said when he was named CEO.
