Beforepay (ASX:B4P) share price crashes 44% after IPO

Key points

• Beforepay completed its IPO raising $35 million at $3.41 per new share
• Investors have sold down the personal lender’s shares to a lowly $1.91
• This was despite the company revealing strong growth during the December quarter

The Beforepay Group Limited (ASX: B4P) share price has hit the ASX boards today and crashed lower following the completion of its initial public offering (IPO).

In afternoon trade, the personal lender’s shares are down 44% from their listing price to $1.91.

The Beforepay IPO

Beforepay’s shares landed on the ASX today after raising $35 million at $3.41 per new share. This gave the company a market capitalisation of $158.4 million at listing. However, with its shares crashing today, its market capitalisation has now dwindled to approximately $90 million.

The proceeds from the IPO are to be used to allow Beforepay to invest in additional customer acquisition, support growth in cash outs, invest in product and credit model refinements, explore the viability of overseas opportunities, and pay costs associated with the offering.

What is Beforepay?

According to its prospectus, Beforepay was founded in 2019 to offer consumers a better way to manage their personal finances. This is by providing the flexibility to access their pay earlier, without having to rely on credit cards or other forms of revolving debt.

In doing so, Beforepay believes that it meets the demand of consumers who have been increasingly rejecting these forms of credit, while filling a gap in the market for flexible, transparent and on-demand access to credit.

Beforepay’s Chair, former Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) CEO Brian Hartzer, commented: “I’m delighted to see Beforepay list on the ASX today. The strong support we’ve received from investors is testament to the growth Beforepay has delivered as a startup and the opportunity ahead of us as a public company.”

“On behalf of the Board I’d like [to] thank our existing shareholders for their support during the early stages of our business and welcome the many new shareholders, whose investment in Beforepay is a vote of confidence in both the Pay on Demand industry and Beforepay’s future growth,” he added.

That confidence vote hasn’t lasted long unfortunately. This is despite Beforepay revealing further strong growth during the December quarter. This morning it revealed pay advances up 361% to $77 million and active users up 199% to 139,100.