The direct listing of Wise - Matt Briers (IPO Stories, Ep. 17)

Matt Briers has been the CFO of Wise since 2015. In 2021, Matt led the company to a direct listing on the London Stock Exchange, the first major direct listing in Europe. Wise, founded in the UK in 2011 by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, has revolutionized cross-border payments for individuals and businesses by making them easier, faster and cheaper. After 10 years as a private company, Wise followed in the footsteps of Spotify and Slack by doing a direct listing instead of a regular IPO, at a valuation of 11 billion dollars. With Matt, we discuss the rationale and timing to go public for a profitable tech company which doesn’t need to raise money, his experience of the direct listing process, and the considerations around a UK listing rather than US. If you have feedback, or there are any topics you would like us to cover on the show, please reach out at [email protected] Disclaimer: this discussion is not financial advice, nor an investment recommendation, nor a solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments, or an offer for financial services or any other transaction. The information contained in the recording have no contractual value and are destined for an informational purpose only. Amundsen Investment Management and the participants on this podcast may have holdings in the companies being discussed.