Minneapolis-based Sezzle plans to list its shares on Nasdaq

After a failed merger last summer, the Minneapolis-based company, Sezzle Inc., plans to list its shares directly on Nasdaq.

The buy now-pay later fintech company is publicly traded on the Australian Stock Exchange. The company won't raise in capital with its move to Nasdaq, but it stands to gain access to more investors.

"A listing on the Nasdaq is a natural evolution for Sezzle, given the company is already filing the necessary reports with the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission]," Charlie Youakim, chief executive of Sezzle, said in a statement.

Last summer Sezzle had plans to merge with Zip Co., another fintech payments company based in Australia. That deal fell through after the market values of both companies declined.

Sezzle continues to grow. In 2022, Sezzle had revenue of $125.6 million, a 9.4% increase from 2021. They lost $38.1 million, improving from 2021's net loss of $75.2 million. At the end of 2022, it had 290 employees.

With the market for initial public offerings sluggish, companies are looking for other ways to appear on major exchanges, including through direct listings, direct offerings and reverse mergers.

Sezzle will have to complete some regulatory steps for listing consideration on the Nasdaq Global Market. One of those moves would be a reverse stock split to raise its stock price to satisfy the exchange's minimum requirements.

Sezzle's shares currently trade around 34 cents per share, but they have traded as high as $1.15 a share in the last 52 weeks. Sezzle's shares briefly traded at more than $10 a share in early 2021.

At a special shareholders meeting not yet on the schedule, Sezzle plans to discuss whether to do a 1-for-5, 1-for-50 reverse stock split or some other ratio in between. Sezzle hopes to complete the direct listing by Sept. 30.