TransferWise confirms new $5B valuation following $319M secondary share sale –
Summary
TransferWise, the London-headquartered international money transfer service, is disclosing that it is now valued at $5 billion by private investors, confirming an earlier Sky News report. Vulcan Capital also came on board as a new investor, with Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Investments and LocalGlobe adding to their existing holdings. Each instance also seemingly represents contrasting ways to value and grow a fintech company, with each scale-up balancing equity-financed growth versus profitability differently. The much younger Revolut continues to be loss-making, prioritising growth above all else — but is reportedly aiming for profitability by the end of this year. The company also recently announced new regulator permissions to offer savings and investments options in the U.K. via the TransferWise borderless account, with the new product set to launch “in the next 12 months.” “We’ve been funded exclusively by our customers for the last few years and we didn’t need to raise external funding for the company,” says co-founder and current CEO Kristo Käärmann in a statement.