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Personal finance firm NerdWallet reveals jump in revenue in IPO filing

October 10, 2021 00:00:00


NerdWallet Inc on Friday made public its paperwork for a US initial public offering that showed a more than 32 per cent jump in revenue for the consumer financial advice website, reports Reuters.

The San Francisco-based company did not share terms for the offering, but two sources close to the matter said in May it could seek a valuation of up to $5 billion.

The IPO follows a flurry of financial technology companies that have listed their shares in New York this year, such as buy-now-pay-later firm Affirm Holdings Inc (AFRM.O), online brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O) and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O).

NerdWallet confidentially submitted paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the IPO in May, Reuters had reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company was founded in 2009 by former hedge fund executive Tim Chen and Jake Gibson, a former trader at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). It provides financial guidance to users on credit cards, loans, mortgages and other financial products.

Chen was inspired to start NerdWallet after he failed to find a suitable answer on the internet to his sister's question about which credit card was the most suitable for an expatriate living in Australia, the filing showed.

In the six months ended June 30, the company reached 21 million unique users per month and generated $181.6 million in revenue compared with $137.3 million a year earlier, according to the filing.

In 2020, NerdWallet entered the international market with the acquisition of UK-based online financial guidance provider Know Your Money. It also bought New York City-based Fundera, a marketplace for small businesses looking for loans, the same year.

Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Barclays, Citigroup and KeyBanc Capital Markets are among the underwriters for NerdWallet's offering. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol "NRDS".


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