Judo Bank, Shareholders Seek $477 Million in Sydney Fintech IPO

(Bloomberg) -- Australian small business lender Judo Capital Holdings Ltd. and a group of shareholders are seeking to raise about A$653 million ($477 million) in a Sydney initial public offering priced at A$2.10 each, after lining up cornerstone investments for most of the shares already.

The sale of 311.1 million shares in the fintech firm, known as Judo Bank, attracted over A$515 million of commitments from large investors, and will give institutional buyers a chance to purchase about A$135 million, according to listing documents seen by Bloomberg News. The offering consists of a mix of new and existing shares.

Judo Bank would have a market capitalization of about A$2.3 billion after the offering, the documents show. Investors in the share sale will own about 28% of the company. No general public offer for the shares will be made.

The October-December period is historically the busiest for IPOs in Australia, helped this year by a strong performance on the ASX200. GQG Partners Inc., the investment boutique started by fund manager Rajiv Jain, plans to raise as much as A$1.3 billion in an IPO this month. 

The Judo Bank sale includes a A$309 million selldown by existing shareholders, including Sing Glow Investment Pte, which will keep 7% equity in the company when it begins trading in November.

The joint lead managers for the offering are Barrenjoey Capital Partners Pty, Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The banks are expected to stop taking orders on Wednesday at 11 a.m. local time.

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