Payments Startup Dlocal Eyes Sale and Taps Ex-MercadoLibre CFO Arnt as Co-CEO

Uruguay-based payments services provider dLocal is reportedly seeking a buyer.

The company has been working with a financial adviser about a potential sale, Bloomberg News reported Monday (Aug. 14), citing sources familiar with the matter. The same sources said dLocal had received takeover interest.

A spokesperson for the company told PYMNTS Tuesday (Aug. 15) that dLocal could “not comment on market rumors or speculations.”

Meanwhile, the company named the former chief financial officer of MercadoLibre, Pedro Arnt, as its co-chief executive officer to serve along with chief executive officer Sebastian Kanovich, according to Bloomberg Tuesday (Aug. 15).

As the Bloomberg report noted, the sale — if it were to materialize — would be part of a larger consolidation trend in the payments industry. For example, last month saw FIS sell a majority stake of its WorldPay business to GTCR in a $18.5 billion deal.

The news comes two months after dLocal said it was making a significant investment into Argentina, spending $100 million and hiring 400 new workers there.

The company said at the time that it had met with senior representatives of the country’s government to discuss “the manner in which dLocal operates in the country,” including its compliance with Argentina’s foreign exchange rules.

“The government representatives understood the importance of the services that dLocal provides in Argentina, the way in which dLocal promotes financial inclusion in the country and appreciated dLocal’s proactive engagement and willingness to cooperate with applicable administrative and judicial authorities of Argentina,” dLocal said in a release then.

The company, which provides payments services in Latin America, Asia and Africa, went public in 2021.

Also this year, the company rolled out dLocal for Platforms, a new tool that lets dLocal onboard sellers, service providers or contractors to its platform, and verifies them before paying out.

“Everyone selling their services or products on a platform relies on receiving their payment in due time and order,” Federico Mazzoli, dLocal’s vice president of product, said at the time. “That’s where we step in to sort the challenges they face when offering a convenient and local checkout experience, for both sellers and customers.

“No need to connect to hundreds of different processors, and way less hassle when making payments to other merchants or sellers,” he added.

As PYMNTS has written, offering local payments is critical for merchants that wish to expand overseas, with one study revealing that consumers complete 77% of global eCommerce purchases via local payment methods, like as local cards or cash.