Fintech MitchCap raises $15m, suspends IPO plans

afr.com:

MitchCap has put its initial public offering plans on the back burner after securing fresh equity and debt funding, Street Talk can reveal.

MitchCap CEO Paul Mitchell. 

The specialist non-bank distribution financier, founded by former GE Capital distribution GM Paul Mitchell, ruled off a $15 million capital raising on Friday which will help keep the business private for at least 24 months.

MitchCap has also secured a $275 million warehouse facility from Macquarie Bank. The company’s existing investors Balmain Asset Management and NAOS Asset Management cornerstoned the equity round.

The fresh funding comes 18 months after MitchCap completed a $14.5 million pre-IPO funding round, led by NAOS and managed by Shaw and Partners. At the time, the company was targeting an IPO within 12 to 18 months.

The business connects the key stakeholders in fragmented distribution channels – equipment manufacturers, distributors, resellers etc – via its platform, providing enhanced credit data and enabling better trading terms.

Proceeds from the equity and debt funding will be put towards expanding its distribution finance volume and developing its offering in more equipment industries, Mitchell told Street Talk.

Today, MitchCap core industries are recreational vehicles, marine equipment, bicycles and bikes. It’s also growing its reach in agriculture equipment and motorcycles. The business just ticked past $1 billion of equipment inventory funded since its inception in 2019.

It was founded to plug the gap in the market for a non-bank distribution financier after GE Capital sold its commercial distribution finance unit to Wells Fargo. Today, MitchCap competes with Wells Fargo’s global arm and Bank of Queensland.

Mitchell said the raising