The Fintech Smava plans the IPO and could be valued at up to half a billion US dollars. Managing Director Alexander Artopé announced the step in the conversation with the news agency dpa-afx. Although there are no details and no date for the stock market launch, but the IPO should definitely be listed on a German stock exchange, revealed Artopé. Going public is the opportunity to open the next chapter in Smava’s growth story.
Smava collected $ 65 million in 2018
Maybe the stock market plans are related to Smava investors. For example, Reuters reported that financial investor Vitruvian Partners had appointed several investment banks to work out different scenarios for the shares in the credit intermediation platform. In addition to a sale of shares, an IPO is an option. Vitruvian Partners is a European private equity firm focused on growth capital investment in mid-sized companies. Vitruvian Partners and other investors such as Runa Capital had invested $ 65 million in Smava in a 2018 financing round.
According to company information Smava grows continuously. Small loans worth a total of two billion euros were brokered last year. This corresponds to an increase of 70 percent over the previous year. On average, Smava has grown by as much as 90 percent a year since 2012, according to Managing Director Artopé to dpa-afx. Also, the turnover in 2018 by a considerable 75 percent rose to 70 million euros.
Lending credits with negative interest
In the past Smava had advertised its special loan offers. For example, Fintech 2017 was the first provider in Germany to introduce a negative interest rate on installment loans. Recently, even a loan with a negative interest rate of ten percent can be applied for, as Smava has announced today in a press release. So far, negative interest loans amounting to more than 20 million euros have been issued.
In terms of sales, Smava is thus ahead of its competitor finanzcheck.de. Other direct competitors of Smava in the brokerage business of small loans are the portals check24.de or verivox.de.
Also published on Medium.