Credible trying to IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange

The US fintech with an Aussie boss is trying to list on the ASX

San Francisco-based student loans fintech Credible is trying to list its stock on the Australian Stock Exchange as part of an A$300m valuation, a new report on the Australian Financial Review has said.

Stephen Dash, the company’s Australian founder and former JPMorgan banker, is pitching his company to Aussie money managers in Sydney and Melbourne as part of a roadshow tour organised by Bell Securities. Ron Suber, the “godfather” of fintech and a Credible director, is rumored to be joining Mr Dash on tour.

According to the AFR, Credible is trying to raise $67m as part of a deal that puts the company's market capitalisation at $306.6 million. If successful, Credible would join a select list of fintechs to have successfully listed on the ASX.

Of the capital raise, almost three-quarters will go into boosting Credible's marketing and IT systems. The remaining quarter would allow existing investors to cash out.

Credible hopes to begin trading on the ASX in early December, the report said.

Credible runs a peer-to-peer lending website that connects those with student loans to lenders. For borrowers, the hope is they can refinance their student loans on favorable terms – particularly successful professionals like doctors and lawyers with high earnings and high levels of job security. For lenders, the attraction is a high class of borrowers with stable earnings.

Credible expects to refinance almost A$990m in loans this year, more than double last year's $476m. But the pitch that it is expected to make to money managers is one about opportunity. According to the report:

“The biggest numbers are about the potential market… rather than the company's own profit and loss statement. Credible forecasts a $US8.2 million net loss this year, on $US18.5 million revenue.”