By Corrie Driebusch, Ianthe Jeanne Dugan and Telis Demos
Shares of Lending Club Corp surged Thursday, opening 65% above
the company's initial public offer price in early trading.
The San Francisco-based online peer-to-peer lending company
recently traded at $23.18 on the New York Stock Exchange, below
where the stock opened at $24.75.
On Wednesday, Lending Club sold 58 million shares for $15
apiece, above the $12 to $14 a share range that was outlined in a
filing with regulators.
The highly-anticipated deal raised $870 million for the company
before taking account of the overallotment option, which gives
underwriters the opportunity to sell additional shares under
certain circumstances.
Lending Club connects borrowers with lenders in an online
marketplace for a fee; it doesn't actually lend any money itself.
The deal has generated buzz particularly among technology
investors, according to money managers, even as the company faces a
number of risks, including competition from banks and other
startups, rising interest rates and regulatory hurdles.
Lending Club kicked off its IPO opening with a breakfast at the
NYSE, where board members and Wall Street heavy-hitters John Mack
and Larry Summers spoke to the hundred-plus employees and
friends--all clad in bright red track jackets with the company's
logo--of the company gathered in the exchange's board room.
Mr. Mack, former Morgan Stanley chief executive and a Lending
Club board member, said when he first met the company's chief
executive, Renaud Laplanche, he asked how banks allow Lending Club
to operate as it does in this space. He said he was told that
Lending Club wasn't big enough to grab attention.
"We're on their radar screen now," said Mr. Mack, adding that
given the pressure from the new model, "the change in financial
services is going to be huge."
The deal was led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse
and Citigroup.
Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com, Ianthe
Jeanne Dugan at ianthe.dugan@wsj.com and Telis Demos at
telis.demos@wsj.com
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