The two founders of start-up foreign exchange service TransferWise are reported to be preparing a sale of some of their shares in a further round of fundraising that could see the company's valuation exceed £1.2 billion, consolidating its unicorn status.
According to Sky News, Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus are set to sell a small portion of their 40% stake in the company as part of a Series E funding round.
Sky News has also reported that a small stake in TransferWise is set to change hands this week as part of an £18m deal involving venture capital firm Draper Esprit and investment funds from Seedcamp, an early-stage investor in multiple start-ups including TransferWise.
TransferWise latest fundraising efforts, which will target investors such as Old Mutual Global Investors and Silicon Valley-based IVP, will value the company at £1.2bn ($1.6 bn), exceeding the $1bn mark reserved for so-called 'unicorns'.
TransferWise has embarked on a series of capital raising ventures in the past that have secured more than $100m from the likes of venture capital funds Baille Gifford, Valar Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.
Attaining unicorn status is not TransferWise's only milestone acheived this year. In May, the company announced that it had been operating at a profit since the beginning of the year, six years after launching.