Exits & Deep Reads

Is the long-awaited IPO window open for fintech? (TWIF 6/15)

Reading the news about anything other than fintech in 2025.

Hello Fintech Friends,

This week, American neobank Chime went public.

The bank, once valued at $25 billion in a 2021 fundraise, set expectations for a public offering at a more modest valuation range of $9 to $11 billion. Once the offering went live on Thursday, shares surged 59% as retail enthusiasm for a new tech IPO took the market cap up to $18.4 billion, raising over $800 million.

This is exciting for anyone who has been tracking consumer fintech, which has been a bit of a riddle in public markets and a category that venture investors avoided. Chime's IPO was a ringing endorsement of fintech providers that learned the difficult lessons of 2022. Chime disclosed in their S-1 that the bank has 8.6 million active members — up 23% from 2024 — where 67% of them use Chime as their primary financial provider, which is a key detail.

The bank realized revenues of $1.7 billion in 2024, is now profitable on a GAAP basis, and is looking to expand this year into products like earned wage access.

Who will be next? Monzo with 12 million+ users, profitable, and £1.2 billion+ revenue? Revolut with 50 million+ users, £3.1 billion in revenue, and ~£1 billion in profit? Or Starling with £714 million revenue and £150 million in net income?

Also this week, Stripe made its second big stablecoin acquisition, taking on digital currency embedded wallet provider Privy to complement its $1.1 billion purchase of Bridge last year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though industry rumors peg the valuation anywhere from $400 million to $1 billion.

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below.

(👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm)

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Reads of the Week

Exits

IPOs & SPACs

Coastal South Bancshares filed for an IPO, aiming to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker COSO and expand its regional banking footprint across Georgia and the Carolinas.
Jefferson Capital Systems, backed by J.C. Flowers, is targeting a $1.1 billion valuation in its planned U.S. IPO, positioning itself as a leader in the consumer debt purchasing space.
1RT Acquisition, a newly formed SPAC, filed for a $150 million IPO with plans to target businesses in the digital asset ecosystem, including blockchain infrastructure and tokenization platforms.

M&A - Fintech

Stripe agreed to acquire crypto wallet infrastructure provider Privy, aiming to expand its capabilities in onboarding and managing crypto users. This comes after its acquisition of merchant embedded stablecoin payment provider Bridge for $1.1 billion last fall.
Fiserv moved to acquire AIB Merchant Services, a joint venture with Allied Irish Banks, to deepen its footprint in European payment processing.
Lemonway acquired French payments platform PayGreen, enhancing its sustainability-focused payment offerings for marketplaces and platforms.
Vistra acquired payroll and workforce management company iiPay, strengthening its global expansion in employer services and international HR solutions.
Paynt acquired Canadian payments firm E-xact Transactions, expanding its footprint in North America and enhancing its acquiring capabilities.
Elliott Davis received a strategic growth investment from private equity firm Flexpoint Ford and completed a CEO succession plan, appointing Will Clarke as the new CEO.
Datasite acquired deal sourcing platform Grata, aiming to accelerate its end-to-end M&A workflow offering for corporate development and investment professionals.

🚨 Crypto gets even more embedded.@Stripe just announced its acquisition of @privy_io, a crypto wallet infrastructure startup that helps developers onboard users with just an email or phone number.

📲 Think of it as the @Plaid of crypto wallets: drop-in components to abstract…
— Nik (@NikMilanovic) June 11, 2025

M&A - Banks and Financial Institutions

Centerbridge Partners is seeking $1 billion to extend its investment in Bank of Montreal’s former European operations, now rebranded as Bank North, through a continuation fund structure.
Mizuho Financial Group moved to acquire Indian investment bank Avendus Capital, with the deal reportedly near completion as part of Mizuho’s broader Asia expansion strategy.
Lone Star Funds is preparing to sell its majority stake in Novo Banco, with France’s BPCE emerging as a leading bidder.
Eurazeo and Nordic Capital are exploring a potential acquisition of Danish asset manager Capital Four, which is backed by billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, aiming to expand their presence in European credit markets.

🧵 1/ Stablecoins have emerged as crypto's killer app, surging to a $250bn supply and accelerating the arrival of pivotal legislation. This momentum has ignited an arms race, pushing banks, fintechs, and payment giants including Visa, Stripe, and PayPal to aggressively map out… pic.twitter.com/m92pahDTmA
— ParaFi Capital (@paraficapital) June 12, 2025