TransferWise Valued at $5bn in Secondary Sale

TransferWise sold $319mn worth of shares to early investors and employees that valued the fintech at $5bn; the company’s valuation jumped by 40 percent compared to a similar share sale last year; Matt Briers, TransferWise CFO, said to the FT the sale showed that “we’ve built a business that is increasingly valuable in the eyes of a broad range of investors,” adding that it had continued to grow and remained profitable during the coronavirus crisis; while remittances are down, TransferWise said their business has held up during the pandemic; Co-Founder Kristo Kaarmann said to the FT: “We’ve been funded exclusively by our customers for the last few years and we didn’t need to raise external funding for the company. This secondary round provides an opportunity for new investors to come in, alongside rewarding the investors and employees who’ve helped us succeed so far.” Financial Times.