French fintech Younited raises $158 mln in first Paris listing of 2025
21/01/2025 08:11
Jan 21 (Reuters) - French consumer credit business
Younited Financial YOUNI.AS completed its listing in Paris on
Monday after raising 152.6 million euros ($158.3 million),
marking the first listing for the French Stock Exchange in 2025
and a vote of confidence to a European market that lately has
been falling behind the United States.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Grappling with fierce competition from the U.S., which
provides larger investor bases, European tech firms are faced
with the dilemma of keeping their shares trading closer to where
they operate or going abroad in a bid to raise more money.
France has long been branding itself as one of Europe's top
financial hubs and the best investing choice for startups in the
technology sector, mainly in the artificial intelligence (AI)
space.
KEY QUOTE
"The listing on Euronext Paris is a major step forward for
Younited, with the group now benefiting from a robust balance
sheet and enhanced visibility to seize market share," Younited
Chair Elizabeth Critchley said in a statement.
CONTEXT
Younited's listing follows that of LightOn ALTAI.PA which
started trading in Paris in November as the first genAI startup
ever floated on a stock market in Europe.
Pan-European stock exchange operator Euronext ENX.PA told
Reuters in November that European companies preparing their
initial public offerings (IPOs) have the best visibility with
international investors, and that it has not noticed any trend
of European firms delisting to list in the U.S.
BY THE NUMBERS
Younited has financed more than 6 billion euros of loans
since its launch in 2012 and serves 1.2 million customers across
the European Union via its AI-powered instant credit platform.
The company, already listed on Euronext Amsterdam, will keep
the dual listing.
Its market value in Paris stood at 622 million euros as of
Monday's close, based on 65,431,624 ordinary shares trading at
9.50 euros apiece.
($1 = 0.9638 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Leo Marchandon in Gdansk;
Additional reporting by Alban Kacher; Editing by Milla Nissi)
((gianluca.lonostro@thomsonreuters.com;
leo.marchandon@thomsonreuters.com))