Not long after securing its UK banking licence, Revolut is set to cement its position as Europe’s most valuable startup through a $500m share sale that would give the fintech giant a $45bn (£35.3bn) valuation.
The sale was announced to staff on Friday. Revolut employees who have been at the firm for over a year will be allowed to sell 20% of their shares priced at $865.42, first reported by the Financial Times.
The company said it was “committed to enabling its employees to share in the company’s success by becoming shareholders while also providing them with regular opportunities to sell shares”.
The sale would cement a record valuation for the company, which is already among the UK’s most valuable private firms.
Revolut was valued at $33bn in 2021 after an $800m Series E investment round featuring Lakestar, Tiger Global and SoftBank.
A down round from Swedish buy now pay later company Klarna in 2022, which lowered its valuation significantly, put Revolut just behind Checkout.com for the most valuable European startup.
Later in 2022, Checkout.com, which was once valued at $40bn, slashed its internal valuation to $11bn, allowing Revolut to surpass it.
Revolut’s $33bn value didn’t last, however, after an investor wrote down its stake, cutting the valuation to around $18bn. This still placed it as Europe’s most valuable private tech firm, however, the new valuation would put it massively ahead of the competition.
Revolut recently secured a landmark victory in its growth plans after UK regulators approved its banking licence application after three years. Its approval followed the company posting a record £438m of pre-tax profit.