Laybuy to List on ASX Boards
Trans-Tasman rivalries are as old as life itself. And there’s another fierce battle brewing, this time in the hottest sector of the last few years: the buy now pay later space, Australian Financial Review journalists report. Kiwi upstart Laybuy is looking to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) boards in May with a AU$200 million market cap, and from there it can take the fight to dominant Aussie player and market darling Afterpay, which has an AU$8.7 billion market cap, the publication says.
The New Zealand buy now pay later business, founded by Alex and Gary Rohloff, has been kicking around since 2017 and has become the market leader in New Zealand, used by about 4300 merchants and 410,000 consumers across the ditch.
Laybuy is in the process of completing an AU$10 million to AU$15 million pre-IPO raising, led by Sydney financial adviser Venture Advisory.
The dust on the pre-IPO raise is expected to settle in early February and then it will be full steam ahead for a run at the ASX boards.
Brokers plan to start marketing the IPO in March and will look to raise north of AU$45 million. This would imply a market capitalisation for Laybuy heading towards AU$200 million and an enterprise value of AU$150 million.
A slide deck obtained by the Review is spruiking Laybuy as the “leading BNPL player in New Zealand with strong growth in [the] United Kingdom and Australia”.
By the March quarter of 2021, Laybuy is estimating 73 per cent of its GMV will come from the UK and 27 per cent from New Zealand and Australia.
Consumers who use Laybuy must pay back their purchases in six weekly instalments, compared to Afterpay’s four fortnightly ones, and the company charges no interest.
Original article by Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd, The Australian Financial Review, January 16, 2020.
Photo by Marcus Loke.
