Chime prices IPO at $27 per share, valuing fintech company at $11.6 billion ahead of Nasdaq debut

Chime priced its IPO at $27 per share on Wednesday, above the expected range, in an offering that values the provider of online banking services at $11.6 billion

The company raised roughly $700 million in the IPO, with another $165 million worth of shares being sold by existing investors. The stock is expected to begin trading Thursday under ticker symbol CHYM.

The offering comes after a years-long freeze in the fintech IPO pipeline, as rising interest rates and valuation resets kept many late-stage companies on the sidelines. The market has started to loosen. Trading platform eToro jumped 29% in its Nasdaq debut last month, and crypto company Circle popped after hitting the market last week.

Online lender Klarna, meanwhile, has delayed its IPO plans and last month reported steep quarterly losses.

Chime’s decision to go public — even after a steep cut from its last private valuation of $25 billion — marks a major test of investor appetite for consumer-facing finance companies. SoftBank, Tiger Global, and Sequoia all invested in the 2021 round at Chime’s private market peak.

The company’s top institutional shareholders are DST Global and Crosslink Capital, which owned 17% and 9.5%, respectively, of shares before the offering.

Chime’s core business — offering no-fee banking services, debit cards, and early paycheck access — draws most of its revenue from interchange fees. The company competes in various areas with fintech incumbents PayPal, Square and SoFi.

Revenue in the latest quarter climbed 32% from a year earlier to $518.7 million. Net income narrowed to $12.9 million from $15.9 million a year ago.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are leading the IPO.

WATCH: Chime files to go public