Nets IPO Price Range Values It At As Much As $4.8 Billion

Nets, the Denmark-based card payment services company, has reportedly set the price range for its initial public offering. According to a report by Reuters, the price range for its previously announced IPO values the company at as much as $4.8 billion, which is close to double the amount paid for the company by two U.S. equity firms back in 2014.

Nets said it expects the IPO to price in a range of 130–160 Danish crowns per share, giving it a valuation of 26 billion–32 billion Danish crowns, or $3.92 billion–$4.83 billion. The company’s debut on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange is set for Sept. 27. The company, which issues what Reuters said is the most used debit card in Denmark, will offer investors 40–60 percent of the total shares, including up to 42.3 million new shares that are expected to raise the proceeds of the IPO by about 5.5 billion crowns.

The IPO will be Europe’s second-largest one since the historic vote in the U.K. this summer to exit the European Union. Two years ago, the startup was acquired by Advent International and Bain Capital. ATP, the Danish pension fund, was also part of the deal. “There is clearly a real appreciation of the transformation Nets has undergone in the past two years,” Chief Executive Bo Nilsson said in a statement. Reuters noted that, since the middle of 2014, Nilsson has engaged in acquisitions, laid off hundreds of workers and invested greater than 800 million crowns on information technology.

The report noted that, after the IPO, the next challenge for Nets will be navigating a more competitive marketplace for online payments that now includes Visa, Mastercard, Worldpay and Wirecard, among others. The offer period for the IPO kicked off Tuesday (Sept. 13) and ends on Sept. 26. It could be closed as early as Sept. 22, depending on demand.