Montreal-based travel startup Hopper seeks $ 200 million in pre-IPO debt

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Hopper, a travel booking startup, is in talks with banks to organize a credit line of about $ 200 million before a possible initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

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The Montreal-based company could seek a listing starting next year, said the people, who asked not to be named because the plans are not public. Hopper may be valued at around $ 5 billion, depending on market conditions, one of them added. No final decision has been made and Hopper could choose to remain private.

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A representative for Hopper declined to comment.

Hopper, which counts the growth capital division of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Capital One Financial Corp. and WestCap among its investors, said in August that it completed a $ 175 million financing led by GPI Capital that valued it at more than $ 3.5 billion. .

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Obtaining a Wall Street line of credit often precedes an IPO. Companies with ambitions to go public routinely reward banks that make large credit commitments with roles in their IPOs, and lenders sometimes offer better financing terms in return.

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Hopper was founded in 2007 by Joost Ouwerkerk and CEO Frédéric Lalonde, both former executives of Expedia Group Inc. The company has said its technology results in substantial discounts for travelers, who are then drawn to become repeat customers. Its app has been downloaded more than 64 million times, and the platform has made it easy to plan more than 180 million trips, Hopper’s website shows.

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In August, the company said that fintech offerings account for the majority of its revenue and that it intends to pursue new categories of travel, such as home rentals and regional expansion in Europe. Hopper also said at the time that its share of the North American air travel market exceeded pre-pandemic numbers.