Bolt Financial (DBA: Bolt), a Prime Unicorn Index component last valued at $9.2B, is planning to buy back shares from its investors at a $300 million valuation, a significant markdown from its last fundraising round in January 2022, according to The Information.
Bolt is an e-commerce technology company that focuses on simplifying the checkout experience for online retailers and consumers. They provide a streamlined checkout process, aiming to increase conversion rates for businesses by reducing cart abandonment. Bolt also offers fraud detection and mitigation services, alongside a unified platform for payments and checkout, aiming to create a more secure and efficient online shopping experience. Their solutions cater to retailers looking to enhance their e-commerce infrastructure and improve the overall customer purchasing journey.
In a letter to its limited partners, Tribe Capital, one of Bolt’s investors, disclosed that it would be selling its shares back to the company through a tender offer that prices preferred shares at 97% below its last round. Tribe notes that they believe this price is below fair market value and that Bolt still has $300 million in cash, but “the opportunity to recover a significant percentage of invested capital is one worth taking.” It is worth noting that Tribe disagrees with the buyback- going as far as calling it reckless- and that it believes the cash would be better spent on a turnaround strategy.
Bolt has raised $814.82 million over seven rounds, with its most recent round being a $259.02 million Series E round in January 2022, which valued the company at $9.2 billion at $50.11 per preferred share. Investors include Blackrock, Tribe Capital, WestCap Group, Glynn Capital, Activant Capital Group, General Atlantic, HIG Growth Partners, Invus Opportunities, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, and CE Innovation Capital.