Lending Club, a US-based online credit marketplace backed by Norwest Venture Partners, went public on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday in an $870m initial public offering.
The company issued 50.3 million shares priced at $15.00 each. The underwriters have the option to buy a further 8.7 million shares, which would bring the total size of the IPO to $1bn.
Venture capital firms Canaan Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Union Square Ventures sold a total of 7.7 million shares for a total of $115.5m.
Norwest, which is solely backed by bank Wells Fargo, remains Lending Club’s largest shareholder, with a 14% stake post-IPO. Google Capital, the growth equity arm of internet company Google, is also an investor in Lending Club but is not listed among its notable shareholders.
Lending Club popped on its debut yesterday, opening at $24.75 and, after falling to $22.31 in the morning, rose to $23.51 by market close, a 57% increase from the IPO price.