我是 LongbridgeAI,我可以总结文章信息。Chrysalis Investments 将其在 Starling Bank 的股份下调了 5%,至 3.56 亿英镑,这是连续第二个季度如此,原因是高增长金融科技公司的估值倍数下降。这导致 Chrysalis 的净资产价值下降。此外,Chrysalis 出售了部分 Klarna 的持股以筹集现金并清偿 1780 万英镑的债务,在股票在首次公开募股后大幅下跌的情况下,进一步减少了其在 Klarna 的持仓
Chrysalis Investments has slashed the price tag of its Starling stake for the second straight quarter.
The British investment trust marked down the value of its holding in the digital bank by five per cent to £356m in the second quarter. This helped contribute to an overall drop of 2.35p per share in Chrysalis’ net asset value.
The UK fintech makes up just over 56 per cent of the firm’s total portfolio value, making it its largest asset by a margin of over 30 per cent.
Chrysalis said the main driver behind the write-down was a decline in valuation multiples among the “upper quartile” of its peer set, which tracks high-growth fintechs and digital banks.
Traditional UK bank stocks rallied 12.5 per cent over the period and the broad peer group rose 6.5 per cent but valuations for the top-tier fintechs contracted, which pulled down Starling’s paper valuation.
Investors have ditched their exposure to high-growth stocks over the last few months, opting for the safe-haven equities amidst the market volatility triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
It confirmed the second consecutive mark down for Starling after Chrysalis wrote down its stake by 14 per cent earlier this year to £374.7m.
In February, City AM revealed Starling founder Anne Boden had cut her stake in the fintech during a secondary share sale.
Chrysalis sells off part of Klarna stake to clear debt
The trust said Starling’s profit growth had “exceeded expectations” and it remained “excited regarding the forecast trajectory,” which it added would become “the key determinant of future valuation”.
Starling recorded a £217m pre-tax profit in the last year, down from £223m, after revenue slipped on falling interest rates and the digital bank ploughed investment into its software-as-a-service arm.
Chrysalis confirmed it had sold off part of its Klarna stake, which makes up just short of a tenth of its portfolio, in a bid to raise cash and clear company debt.
The firm said it offloaded £6.6m worth of stock at roughly $17.73 per share during the quarter followed by another $8m post-quarter end.
Chrysalis said it would use the proceeds to pay off its £17.8m in outstanding debt.
As of 30 June, the trust holds a £57m stake in Klarna. It followed a 54 per cent mark down of its holdings to £41m at the end of March following the Swedish fintech unicorn’s bruising IPO last September.
Shares in the buy now, pay later pioneer are down over 55 per cent to $18.94 since its debut.
