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Discord, the communications platform widely used by gamers, and Klarna, the payments business, are both in talks with investment banks over possible IPO moves in 2025, a double hit which could kick-start a succession of companies opting to go public.
An initial public offering (IPO) is when private companies move to list on stock exchanges, allowing other funds, businesses or individual investors to buy their shares, raising money for further investment in the company’s growth and for existing shareholders – often founders, employees or early backers – to sell up and claim a profit.
In both the UK and the US, the IPO market has been relatively underwhelming of late, though analysts had forecast a rebound in 2025. For the London Stock Exchange, the biggest listing recently has been that of Canal+, the French media group debuting with a market value of around £2.5bn in December 2024.
Both the FT and the New York Times now report that Discord could be the next big company to IPO in the States, four years after their initial plans to do so, following a spate of companies opting to delay or remove their own plans to list due to market, political or economic uncertainty.
Discord was the subject of a $12bn (£9.3bn) takeover discussion with Microsoft in 2021, and was valued at $15bn (£11.6bn) that same year after a fundraising round.
Klarna, meanwhile, is aiming for a $15bn (£11.6bn) valuation in a New York listing and could file as soon as next week, reports Bloomberg, with a view to a valuation being set in April.
A spokesperson for Discord was reported by the FT to have said: “We understand there is a lot of interest around Discord’s future plans, but we do not comment on rumours or speculation. Our focus remains on delivering the best possible experience for our users and building a strong, sustainable business.”
There are around 200m monthly users of Discord, the NYT reports, of which 93 per cent are using the app while gaming.
Klarna has about 85m customers worldwide and is well-known for its option to allow users to buy now, pay later. Bloomberg notes the company’s valuation has been volatile, ranging from over $45bn in 2021 to under $7bn a year later.
Last month, the NYT reported comments from the founder of EquityZen, which helps private companies and their employees sell their stock, saying the “[IPO] calendar just went from fully booked to being wide open in a span of like three weeks,” with the likes of car rental company Turo, AI chip company Cerebras and financial services platform Stripe all reportedly now reconsidering public listings after being primed to do so previously.
EquityZen’s Phil Haslett further suggested it would “take a few brave companies to come out” to spark IPO action back into life, raising questions over who might follow Discord in taking the plunge.
In the UK, the biggest IPO story of the year looks likely to be Shein. The China-based fast fashion organisation is still working through regulatory challenges and has suffered a series of hits in 2025 already, from being hammered by MPs at a Business and Trade Committee hearing, to being pressured by investors to lower their planned valuation. A £23bn float would be seen as a boost for the London Stock Exchange, even if regulatory and ethical questions remain for both parties.
But there are plenty of other companies too, some of which may not be household names but have valuable businesses domestically.
Payments firm Ebury, majority owned by Santander, is likely to launch an IPO in London in summer this year, with a reported valuation of around £2.5bn. British bank Shawbrook are similarly keen to float at around the £2bn level, pending market conditions.
And bookshop giant Waterstones are also considering an IPO this year – though are not yet decided over London or New York as their primary listing, if they even do go public.
The battle for listings between the LSE and NYSE has already seen several depart for America chasing higher valuations, with £40bn mining company Glencore the latest to say they’ll do so.
And one further potential IPO for later this year will doubtless cause big fallout, financially and politically, if it goes the same way: Monzo.
There’s no set date for the digital bank to go public but it has been a big success on the British fintech scene and many hope it will stay located in London for that reason, as much as for being a boost to the LSE. A potential £4 to 5bn deal could yet go either way though, with board and CEO reportedly split on which exchange would better suit its needs.
