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Payments giantStripehas delayed go public for so long that its major investor Sequoia Capital is getting originative to offer up return to its limited partners .
The speculation house emailed LPs in funds elevate between 2009 and 2011 with an offer to buy up to $ 861 million Charles Frederick Worth of shares in Stripe , Axiosreported . Sequoia has decline to comment but the purchaser would be other , newer Sequoia pecuniary resource , accord to the electronic mail mail to LPs , that was shared by Axios .
The move is far-famed for two reasons . For one , it ’s evidence that LPs are increasingly fretful for liquidness in this dry IPO marketplace . ( 2024 thus far hasdeliveredjust four venture - back tech initial public offering — Reddit , Astera Labs , IbottaandRubrik — in March and April . )
But perhaps more telling is that Sequoia ’s gesture reflects that the firm is confident not only of Stripe ’s hereafter , but in its ability to eventually exit in a way that will reward investor handsomely . In the varsity letter to LPs , Sequoia write that it remained “ highly optimistic about Stripe ’s future ” and that the company is “ durable across economical cycles . ”
Remember , in March of 2021 Stripe was respect at $ 95 billion , making it one of the highest - respect private startups in the world , and seem to be steamrolling toward a vainglorious , highly - anticipated IPO . In January of 2023 , it was reported that Stripe hadset a 12 - month deadline for itself to go publicor it would prosecute a transaction on the individual market , such as a fundraising event and a tender pass .
It plain opted for the latter .
Last summer , Stripe was valued at $ 50 billion when itraised $ 6.5 billion in Series I funding , a big haircut from its blossom $ 95 billion . In February , TechCrunch reported that Stripe had inked batch with investors to provide liquidity to current and former employees througha tender crack at a $ 65 billion valuation . While that signify it is mount back to that peak rating , it was still far below the eminent mark .
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Still , even at $ 65 billion , Stripe remainedone of the world ’s most valued startups .
Since 2011 , Sequoia has invested a total of $ 517 million in Stripe . In its missive to LPs , the firm noted that Stripe ’s most late 409A valuation was $ 70 billion and that Sequoia ’s entire position is prize at $ 9.8 billion . As a whole , Sequoia reportedlydistributed $ 10 billion to its investorsin 2023 .
Now that Stripe has conducted a big attender whirl , and Sequoia is maneuvering to return hard currency to early funds , this is another meter reading that the fintech titan not likely planning an IPO anytime soon . It ’s also deserving direct out that Sequoia collaborator Luciana Lixandru and Kevin Kelly , a married person from Sequoia Heritage , the business firm ’s separate wealthiness management business , bothsit on Stripe ’s circuit board , giving them inside knowledge of Stripe ’s fiscal program . Lixandru replaced Michael Moritz ’s board seat after he snuff it the historied VC house in December .
There is , of course of action , the theory that Stripe will never go public . Despite increase contender , 15 - year - former Stripe has continued to grow impressively . In March , Stripe take note in its annual letter of the alphabet that ithad crossed the $ 1 trillion total defrayment intensity metricin 2023 after seeing a 25 % bump in its payment volume . The company also say in the varsity letter that it was “ robustly cash current positive in 2023 and expect to be again in 2024 , ” which intend it wo n’t feel the importunity to raise capital , even as it searches for ways to reserve its employees and VC investor to sell shares .
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