Deals of the YEar awards
The winner of the award for IPO of the Year was the largest deal of its kind in 2021 in Latin America – and also one of the last to launch before markets nosedived in 2022.
In December 2021, digital bank Nubank decided to go public by listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange with a concomitant issuance of Brazilian Depository Receipts (BDRs) in São Paulo, raising $2.6 billion in the process. It valued the company at $42 billion at the time.
It was the largest IPO by a fintech company in the past decade, and one of the ten largest ever by a tech company, according to Goldman Sachs. Nubank claims the deal represented the largest market cap at IPO for a Latin American company, the largest US IPO of a Latin American Company since 2012, and the first US IPO with a concurrent offering in Brazilian reais.
The timing was a crucial, as investors were hungry for tech stocks at the time – a sentiment that has since changed dramatically.
“We thought the time was right for us to do the IPO. Not only was the company ready to access the public markets, but the markets were receptive to our story,” says Nubank CFO Guilherme Lago. “We had acquired a strong track record, having become one of the largest financial institutions in Latin America and one of the largest digital banking platforms in the world.”
The capital raise was undertaken at a time when Nubank had more than 40 million clients and was preparing the launching of new products and platforms. It was also developing the business in new markets outside of Brazil. Even still, the company went to great lengths to explain to investors the value of the bank’s business model.
“We started working on our relationship with public equity investors approximately two years prior to our IPO and undertook a number of non-deal roadshows in the 24-month period leading up to the IPO,” Lago says. “By the time we launched the roadshow of the equity offering, we were meeting most investors for the second or third time.”
Another noteworthy feature of the process was the decision by Nubank to open it up to its clients. The bank devised an incentive and reward program, branded "NuSócios", where one real was delivered to each customer who agreed to participate in the program.
“NuSócios ended up benefiting nearly 8 million individuals in Brazil, the vast majority of which had never invested in equities in their life,” Lago says. “This was a milestone in their financial education.” LF
Active Bookrunners: Morgan Stanley; Goldman Sachs; Citi; NuInvest
Passive Bookrunners: Allen & Co; HSBC; UBS; Safra
Co-Managers: Autonomous; KeyBanc Capital Markets; Nau Securities; Nomura; Numis; Susquehanna Financial Group
Issuer's Legal Advisors: Campbells; Davis Polk; Pinheiro Neto
Underwriters' Legal Advisors: Mattos Filho; White & Case; Marrey Junior e Quiroa Advogados; Veiga Filho
All supporting financial institutions and law firms were transmitted to LatinFinance by the award category winners. For updates please email awards@latinfinance.com