(Adds background on Nubank, IPO plans)
By Cassandra Garrison
MEXICO CITY, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Brazilian financial startup Nubank said on Tuesday it acquired in Mexico a Sociedad Financiera Popular, which comes with an operating license that will enable the company to launch new products and services in Latin America’s No. 2 economy.
The company’s Mexican subsidiary Nu Mexico will be able to offer new services through the designation, pending approval by Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), it said in a news release. Nu Mexico did not give details on the new services.
“Closing this acquisition with the approval of the CNBV and thus being able to continue with our expansion plans of our product portfolio is, without a doubt, an important milestone to continue growing in Mexico in a sustainable, orderly and responsible manner,” Emilio Gonzalez, general manager of Nu Mexico, said in the statement.
Nubank, founded in 2013, was recently valued at $30 billion in an investment round led by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/nubank-partners-with-softbank-backed-lending-fintech-creditas-2021-09-13
The company is seeking a valuation in its planned U.S. initial public offering of more than $55 billion, Reuters reported in August. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/buffett-backed-nubank-seek-ipo-valuation-over-554-bln-sources-2021-08-25
It expanded to Mexico in March 2020 with in initial investment of $135 million with an aim to target the country’s vast unbanked population. Less than half of Mexicans have access to traditional banking services, according to data by the national statistics agency cited by the company.
The fintech startup, which also operates in Colombia, has more than 40 million customers in the region, it said.
(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Mark Porter)
