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Chime prices IPO at $27, above proposed range

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Fetches fully diluted valuation of $11.6 billion

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Performance seen as bellwether for other fintech IPOs

By Manya Saini and Niket Nishant

June 12 (Reuters) -

Chime is set to debut on the Nasdaq later on Thursday after

raising

$864 million

in its initial public offering, with investors waiting to

see whether the digital bank will maintain the recent streak of

explosive first-day gains for new listings.

The hotly anticipated debut is being viewed as a bellwether

for other IPO candidates in the fintech industry, where

valuations have cooled from pandemic-era highs.

"A strong debut could trigger a domino effect, prompting

other high-growth firms to accelerate their IPO timelines and

position themselves for a window that's starting to reopen,"

said Kat Liu, vice president at IPOX.

"If well-received, Chime could help reopen the IPO window

for other long-delayed unicorns."

Chime and some of its investors sold 32 million shares

priced at $27 each. It had earlier marketed a $24 to $26 price

range.

The IPO gave the San Francisco-based company a fully diluted

valuation of $11.6 billion. It was last valued at $25 billion

after a funding round in August 2021.

Chime's major backers include Yuri Milner's DST Global and

investment firms General Atlantic and ICONIQ. It has raised

$2.65 billion from private investors since its inception,

according to PitchBook data.

Digital banks such as Chime have grown rapidly in recent

years by offering low-cost, mobile-first financial services that

appeal to younger users and underserved consumers.

With features such as no-fee accounts, early access to

direct deposits and user-friendly apps, they have positioned

themselves as accessible alternatives to traditional banks.

The fintech earns revenue primarily from interchange fees

collected when users swipe their debit cards.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan were the lead

underwriters for Chime's IPO.

MARKET THAW DRAWS IPO HOPEFULS

Soaring interest rates and recession fears since the 2021

IPO boom have hit valuations and investor demand for new issues,

forcing many private companies to delay their IPO plans. But

some high-growth firms are cautiously testing the waters again.

Circle, the stablecoin issuer that went public last

week, has seen its stock gain fourfold from its IPO price. Space

tech firm Voyager's shares more than doubled on their

debut on Wednesday.

However, some analysts cautioned against excessive optimism,

warning that uncertainty around trade negotiations by President

Donald Trump's administration could weigh on the broader

recovery.

"While this is clearly a strong IPO window now, there is no

guarantee it will continue," said Samuel Kerr, head of equity

capital markets at Mergermarket.

"Investors and issuers have made use of the tariff pause to

do deals but there is still broad uncertainty."

Crypto exchange Gemini, buy-now-pay-later firm Klarna, AI

chipmaker Cerebras and medical supplies company Medline are

among the most closely watched names in the current IPO

pipeline.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Manya Saini in Bengaluru;

Editing by Anil D'Silva)