Warren Buffett-Backed FinTech Nubank Files Confidentially for IPO

Brazil, Fintech, Nubank, Confidential, Filing, IPO

Brazilian FinTech Nubank, which is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Oct. 27).

Nubank is expected to have a valuation topping $50 billion, and the listing is anticipated to take place in December, according to the report, which cited unnamed sources. Negotiations are ongoing, and details could change.

See also: Brazilian FinTech Nubank Readies for IPO, Valuation Could Top $55B

The number of Class A ordinary shares being sold and the price range have not yet been established, the report stated. Nubank is looking to list the shares in the U.S. while also having Brazilian depositary receipts (BDRs) trading on the Sao Paulo stock exchange.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup and UBS Group are managing the offering, according to the report.

Nubank is the largest standalone digital bank worldwide and was last valued at $30 billion when Berkshire Hathaway purchased a $500 million stake, the report stated. The challenger bank has more than 41 million customers.

Nubank, which launched in 2014, started first with a credit card offering, building trust with customers without requiring them to hand over any money up front as they would with a debit card. It uses the same model today in new markets.

Read more: Brazil’s Digital Bank Nubank in Talks to Go Public in US

“Once we’re able to build that trust with customers, then we launch debit and savings accounts,” CEO and Founder David Vélez told PYMNTS in April. “That’s the playbook we followed [in Brazil], and today we have more savings accounts than credit customers.”

Building customers’ trust has been especially important amid the pandemic.

“The crisis is forcing adoption in demographics that in normal times would have taken a long time to digitize,” Vélez said at the time. “After the crisis passes, we’re only going to see even more acceleration of customers willing to use digital banking.”