Stripe in advanced talks to raise $4 bln from investors - sources

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[1/2] Small toy figures are seen in front of Stripe logo in this illustration picture taken March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Digital payments processor Stripe Inc is close to raising $4 billion in fresh capital at a valuation of about $55 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The latest capital raise from investors including Thrive Capital could be the largest private funding round in recent memory, marking a steep decline in the valuation of the fintech startup, which was valued at $95 billion in early 2021.

The funding is expected to be completed by the end of March, the sources said, cautioning that the target number could still fall short.

Stripe is also unlikely to launch an initial public offering (IPO) this year as the latest fundraise would cover a forthcoming tax bill, and they need to find a replacement for Dhivya Suryadevara, its chief financial officer who announced her departure earlier this month, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential.

The company has already tapped investment banks Goldman Sachs Group (GS.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) to help with its latest fundraise and to lead its preparations for an IPO eventually.

Stripe, which is aiming to turn profitable before it lists shares on stock exchanges, is raising capital because it needs to cover a big tax bill associated with restricted stock units (RSUs) of employees that are set to expire soon, the sources said.

Goldman Sachs has also been setting up special purpose investment vehicles to offer wealth management clients opportunities to invest in Stripe, one of the sources said. Bloomberg first reported Goldman's offering on Thursday.

Stripe and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Founded in 2010 by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, Stripe builds payment software solutions that allows merchants to accept digital payments in different currencies.

It processed about $14.4 billion in gross revenue in 2022, compared to about $11.7 billion in 2021, the sources cited above said.

Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York, additional reporting by Chibuike Oguh, Editing by Anirban Sen and Philippa Fletcher

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Krystal reports on venture capital and startups for Reuters. She covers Silicon Valley and beyond through the lens of money and characters, with a focus on growth-stage startups, tech investments and AI. She has previously covered M&A for Reuters, breaking stories on Trump's SPAC and Elon Musk's Twitter financing. Previously, she reported on Amazon for Yahoo Finance, and her investigation of the company's retail practice was cited by lawmakers in Congress. Krystal started a career in journalism by writing about tech and politics in China. She has a master's degree from New York University, and enjoys a scoop of Matcha ice cream as much as getting a scoop at work.

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