ThinkMarkets Planning for a $300 Million Australian IPO

ThinkMarkets, an online forex and contracts-for-differences (CFDs) broker, is planning for a $300 million initial public offering (IPO) by the end of this year.

As reported by the Australian Financial Review on Tuesday, the listing is said to be done on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the primary stock exchange of Australia.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission-regulated broker is seeking to raise around $100 million with the public listing of its shares, with a market capitalization of $300 million.

The report also detailed that Citi’s equity desk has already started preparing for the IPO by onboarding fund managers.

Notably, the broker already received $15 million in a pre-IPO funding round last year from Australia’s Regal Funds Management and ex-AFL star Chris Judd. It was an extension of a $5.6 million funding round closed in 2018 and was led by Regal and mining entrepreneur Tolga Kumova.

The local report also detailed that the brokerage generated around $75 million in revenue, however, it is not clear if the number is for the last 12 months or last year – brokers all around witnessed massive trading volume earlier this year with the COVID-19 induced volatility.

Australia – a preferred destination for brokers

The multi-asset broker was established in 2008 by Nauman and Faizan Anees, two brothers. Though initially it was based in New Zealand, it later moved to Australia obtaining an ASIC license, and now has also offices in Dubai, the UK, Bulgaria, and Chicago.

The flagship offering of the platform is a mobile trading platform called ThinkTrader, which it acquired in 2017 for an undisclosed sum. It also launched a direct equities trading product.

ThinkMarkets’ clients are concentrated in China and Asia-Pacific, with over 43,000 active customers onboard. The platform is also licensed in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Bermuda.