Yahoo Finance Exclusive: Finder.com.au co-founder flags IPO
The co-founder of price comparison website Finder.com.au has revealed that the business may be planning to become a publicly listed company.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief and host of The New Investors – My Story show Sarah O’Carroll, co-founder Fred Schebesta said he wanted to give Australians the opportunity to invest in home-grown technology firms.
People invest in the FAANG stocks such as Google, Apple and Facebook, but they’re all American companies, Schebesta pointed out.
While Finder is largely Australia-based, the international business was growing “dramatically”.
“This is us as a nation coming back and saying, ‘okay, we can do technology as well’,” he said.
“I think what would be great at some point in time is that Australians can own part of Finder as well, because people can own part of Google and they can own part of Facebook.”
WATCH: Finder.com.au co-founder discusses plans to take the business public
However, Schebesta said Australians do not have many options to choose from when it comes to investing in Australian tech firms.
“One day, I think I would like to list the company to allow Australians to be able to join and participate, and bring those earnings back to Australia,” he told Yahoo Finance.
There is no “fixed plan” for taking Finder public, but Schebesta revealed “it’s something which is getting talked about more right now”.
“It gets to a certain point in size where I think it'd be great if Australians can share in the growth of Finder and particularly for super funds as well.”
Through superannuation, most Australians are invested in the Big Four Australian banks, he said.
“If you think about it, you know, we all bash the banks, but actually, our retirement is going to be from the banks anyway, right?
“So I hope that we can have an Australian company that people can retire on and we can all share in the win.”
Finder bosses Schebesta and Frank Restuccia will host an exclusive lunch tomorrow in Sydney.
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