Are American IPOs going out of fashion?
#071: Nubank launches personal loans in Mexico, where Stori gets a fresh new license.
Hola technopolists,
It’s the third consecutive week we’re discussing IPO markets — this time, it’s about de-listings. But it’s not the type of brain-drain de-listing we’ve come to expect in LatAm. More in What’s Hot and the Stat.
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What’s Hot
👋🏽 Vitru migrates to Brazil. One of Brazil’s largest online learning platforms is decamping from the NASDAQ in search of brighter days on Brazil’s very own B3. The move is highly unusual, since LatAm IPO migrations usually move towards the US, not away from it (see: Nubank’s delisting from the B3 last year). This news could be Hot or Not depending on your perspective: Hot if you take the company’s vote of confidence in the Brazilian exchange, hoping that local Brazilian analysts and market know-how will propel it to higher share prices; or Not if you look at the stock performance data, which explains the move as a response to a cohort of languishing listed LatAm-ers who’ve been ‘orphaned’ in the Big Apple. More in the Stat. (Brazil Journal)
🏦 Stori’s new license. Mexican credit card unicorn Stori received regulatory approval for its acquisition of MasCaja, a Mexican sofipo, enabling it to snag a fresh license to receive and lend consumer deposits. The move puts Stori on a path already trod by fintechs including Nubank and Ualá, providing the company with the dual benefits of opening up new product lines while lowering its cost of lending. Government data shows that fewer than 35% of Mexican adults have formal credit, and earlier this year Stori said it reached 2mn users. (Reuters)
💰 Nu Mexico’s personal loans. The world’s largest neobank is adding a new product to its Mexican portfolio: consumer loans. The company stated loans will be decided and accessible in under 5 minutes through the app similar to its credit card approvals; the test is currently being rolled out to Nubank employees, with full rollout expected in coming months. Nu’s user adoption in Mexico has risen quickly: it boasts over 5mn total users in the country, having reached 1mn for its Cuenta Nu savings accounts in under a month after launch. Now, it’s hoping to pick up the pace of its lending portfolio, which seems to have gotten off to a sluggish start. (Reuters)
What’s Not
😨 Bossanova’s NFT scandal. LatAm’s most active early-stage investor, Bossanova Investimentos, is embroiled in a judicial enquiry surrounding Mafatech, a Brazilian startup responsible for the NFT-based game Mafago. Bossanova top brass — including its managing partner and his son, João Kepler and Davi Braga — are being probed based on claims of misleading advertising for Mafago: users claim that the firm misled them on social media by stating the fund had invested in Mafatech (which it hadn’t), and that Mafago’s native token would ‘go to the moon’ (which it didn’t). Bossanova have formally denied all claims and both Kepler and Braga claim innocence. (Startups Brasil)
🛍️ Falabella’s foibles. Falabella, the Chile-based retail platform, is facing a world of pain after falling behind Mercado Libre and Amazon in recent months. Last week, CEO Gaston Bottazini — who was responsible for a landmark joint venture with IKEA and $800mn credit-fuelled expansion — announced his departure and triggered the company’s market cap to dip to one-third of its peak; within the past year, Falabella’s share price dropped to its lowest point since the ‘08 financial crisis. It currently trades at a BBB- credit rating, and analysts state it faces a potential downgrade to junk status. (Bloomberg Linea)
Stat of the Week
In light of Vitru’s NASDAQ de-listing, it’s worth returning to IPO markets. Last week, SoftBank said it’s not expecting any significant reopening until mid-2024. This week, the question is: Does Vitru’s de-listing cast further doubt on LatAm’s ability to list successfully in the US?
Let’s take a look at stock performance to see how ‘orphaned’ LatAm tech companies really have been in the US.