Mortgage-focused software startup Blend seeks $4 bln valuation in U.S. IPO

Mortgage software platform Blend Labs Inc said on Tuesday it was targeting a valuation of nearly $4 billion in its initial public offering in the United States, as it seeks to raise up to $360 million. The company, which had filed confidentially for its listing in April, was last valued at $3.3 billion after a funding round in January this year.

Mortgage software platform Blend Labs Inc said on Tuesday it was targeting a valuation of nearly $4 billion in its initial public offering in the United States, as it seeks to raise to $360 million.

The company, which had filed confidentially for its listing in April, was last valued at $3.3 billion after a funding round in January this year. Blend's cloud-based software platform digitizes the banking experience, making it more convenient for customers from the moment they start an application for a loan or a deposit account to the moment they digitally sign the final documents.

The company was co-founded in 2012 by Nima Ghamsari, a former employee of analytics giant Palantir Technologies Inc, who now heads Blend. Timothy Mayopoulos, a former chief executive officer at Fannie Mae, is the president of the startup. Blend aims to sell 20 million shares priced between $16 and $18 each, it said in an amended filing.

Goldman Sachs & Co, Allen & Company, and Wells Fargo Securities are the IPO's lead underwriters. The blend will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BLND."