The delisting of Banco Inter from Brazil’s B3 stock exchange – and the downgrading of Nubank’s Brazilian depositary receipt (BDR) programme – will further frustrate the local exchange’s efforts to attract future fintech IPOs.
That’s the opinion of analysts and equity capital market bankers active in Latin America’s digital banking and fintech industry.
Other large Brazilian financial technology companies, such as PagSeguro, Stone and XP Inc, have simply gone direct to US exchanges.
In June, Banco Inter delisted from the Bovespa and switched to the Nasdaq. According to bankers close to the transaction, the deal represented senior management’s desire to attract US-based investors that would value the digital bank at higher multiples than were being priced by local investors.
“The comps and better valuations are in the US,” says one New York ECM banker. “In Brazil, investors tend to look to the incumbent banks – like Itaú and Bradesco – as comps for Banco Inter rather than the multiples applied to growth stocks listed in the US.”
However, the timing of the strategy has frustrated Banco Inter’s ability to generate a quick increase in its market capitalization. The stock has struggled, initially falling below its listing price before rallying back into positive territory in recent weeks.
“We’ve
