Figure Technology Solutions (FTS), the parent company of Figure Lending LLC, has taken another step towards becoming a public company. Just one week after reorganizing its enterprise structure, the company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering of its equity securities. This filing is known as a Form S-1, which is used by companies planning to go public to register their securities. Details such as the number of shares to be offered and the price range have not yet been determined.
Rumors of a potential public offering started circulating in November when Figure hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. to take its lending division, LendCo, public. Bloomberg reported that LendCo, valued between $2 billion and $3 billion, was expected to go public in the first half of 2024. Last week, it was reported that Figure Lending LLC was operating independently under FTS in preparation for going public.
Despite these recent developments, this is not the first time Figure has planned to go public. Founded in 2018 by former SoFi head Mike Cagney, Figure initially planned to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Figure Acquisitions Corp. However, the deal fell through due to higher interest rates and rising redemption rates, resulting in the delisting of the blank check company. Figure also attempted to merge with Homebridge Financial Services in 2022, but regulatory delays prevented the transaction. The following year, CMG acquired Homebridge’s retail assets.
As of February 2024
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