Bernd Becker 
Brazilian Cross-Border Unicorn Ebanx recently raised $430 Million from Advent International, making it one of the world’s most valuable tech companies. This investment has set the stage for Ebanx to pursue an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the United States. It is a major milestone for the company which has seen incredible growth.
Let’s take a closer look at what the deal entails.
Overview of Ebanx
Ebanx is an online payment solution offering local payment methods in Latin America, serving more than 7.2 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and seven other countries. Founded in 2012, the company has become one of the leading fintech companies in Latin America, having received a $430 million investment from global private equity firm Advent International in late 2019.
The mission of Ebanx is to simplify lives by providing customers with access to secure and convenient payment options. Currently, their global network supports 8 currencies and 22 local payment methods that are popular amongst Latin American consumers including bank deposits, instalments plans, debit cards, e-Wallets and credit cards. This enables customers to make payments faster and easier whenever they purchase products or services online.
With their innovative payment solutions, Ebanx has become an integral part of the Latin American digital economy. Offering competitive merchant fees for online businesses looking for different payment method options worldwide – Ebanx aims to revolutionise how businesses process payments throughout the region.
Overview of Advent International
Advent International is a global private equity investor that has been in operation since 1984. Through its affiliated funds, the firm has made more than 380 investments in over 40 countries worldwide. It is recognized for its partnership with leading businesses, from start-ups to long-established companies, and its contribution to their success.
Advent’s investment funds have a long history of identifying value by investing in market-leading business services and healthcare providers. It has also demonstrated an ability to identify and capitalise on growth opportunities in technology, industrials and consumer markets. The firm has made substantial investments in Latin America, focusing on Brazil and other countries. It also maintains offices in Miami and Madrid, allowing it to remain close to the markets where it invests.
By focusing on strategy and operational initiatives, Advent works closely with management teams at all portfolio companies to create value by accelerating profitable growth and achieving operational excellence using data-driven decisions and best practices. In addition, its broad global network of experienced investment professionals makes it well-suited to execute transactions across geographies while avoiding country-specific risks.
Brazilian Cross-Border Unicorn Ebanx Raises $430 Million From Advent, Gears Up For US IPO
Brazilian cross-border unicorn Ebanx has raised $430 million in a new funding round from investment firm Advent. This investment is said to help Ebanx gear up for a potential US IPO.
According to reports, this new funding round valued the Brazilian fintech firm at nearly $6 billion.
Let’s take a deeper look into the details of the investment.
Amount of Investment
Ebanx, a Brazilian fintech payments platform and leader in the Latin American market, has closed an investment of USD 430 million from Advent International. This deal, one of the most relevant investments in recent years in Latin America’s fintech sector and the most important transaction ever completed by a Brazilian payments startup, values Ebanx at more than USD 2 billion.
The equity capital inflow comes from Advent International’s Global Private Equity fund, which had already invested in 2017 with a capital injection of USD 65 million. In addition to this new investment round, Ebanx will maintain the existing shareholders – Vulcan Capital (Paul Allen family office), BNDES Telesul Participações IMF, Kaszek Ventures and Monashees – as significant shareholders of the company. Founded in 2012 by Australian brothers Mark and Thomaz Sroubek, Ebanx is recognized as a leading global digital payment platform for emerging markets. It processes local payment methods millions of consumers use, including Brazil’s boleto bancário.
Valuation of Ebanx
Ebanx, a leading Latin American fintech payment processor, has announced that it has raised $430 million in a new financing round. The new investment was led by Advent International and was joined by Endeavor Catalyst, MercadoLibre Ventures and Visa.
The deal values Ebanx — which is focused on providing payment options to merchants in Brazil, Mexico and other Latin American countries — at $2.7 billion. Gordon Ritter of Advent International said of the investment: “This represents a tremendous opportunity for Ebanx to expand its global footprint and develop innovative products that revolutionise how customers pay for goods and services in emerging markets.”
The money will be used to expand the company’s portfolio beyond its core markets of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. It will also invest in technological infrastructure such as its EBANX Checkout platform, which provides an easier way to make online purchases with local payment methods such as bank transfers, boleto bancário (a type of payment slip) and digital wallets like Apple Pay in countries including Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay.
Ebanx also plans to use the funding to develop more sustainable financial products for micro-entrepreneurs across Latin America through partnerships with banks, governments and companies. In addition, the additional funds are expected to increase Ebanx’s presence across Europe. Demand is growing significantly for regional players specialising in online payments processing services tailored to challenging LatAm markets while streamlining cross-border commerce operations more efficiently than traditional banks can offer through their obsolete models.
Use of Funds
With the newly-raised $430 million from Advent International, Ebanx aims to use the funds to strengthen alliances with Brazilian merchants and expand its presence in Latin America. The Rio de Janeiro based financial technology company will also be looking to continue its global expansion into European and Asian markets and explore possible opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.
Specifically, Ebanx intends on investing R$550 million in Brazil alone through 2021 for marketing efforts and B2B partnerships. In addition, the company plans to expand its digital payments team, which currently consists of 2,000 employees in six countries – Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru and Chile – while doubling down on its customer worth program. As part of its customer worth program initiative, Ebanx intends to expand its current offering of a 120-day payment term without charging interests or late fees– a perk previously available only on two specific services in Brazil.
Impact of Investment
The $430 million investment in Brazilian cross-border unicorn Ebanx from Advent, a leading global investment firm, will affect both Ebanx and the tech industry.
According to insiders, the funding marks an important milestone for Ebanx, as it gears up for its US IPO. Let’s look at how this investment will impact Ebanx and the tech industry.
Expansion of Ebanx’s Operations
Ebanx, a leading Latin American digital payments company, has announced a new funding round of $430 million led by Advent International. This investment will add to the more than $400 million the company has raised and is expected to place it among the fintech unicorns in Latin America. The proceeds will expand Ebanx’s operations and focus on international markets while continuing to grow existing strategies.
The lead investor Advent International is one of the world’s largest investment firms, having recently invested in Banco BMG, one of Brazil’s largest financial services providers. As part of this new funding round, Advent will become a shareholder in Ebanx, supporting the e-commerce market leader’s aim to make financial services accessible for all Latin American countries.
Efforts from the investment will be focused on external growth opportunities such as onboarding merchant partners and country expansion with an already established presence in nine markets: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and other emerging countries such as Peru and Chile. Additionally, Ebanx looks forward to further diversifying its payment offerings using acquiring technology startups or through partnerships with organisations that share its goal of increasing access to digital payments across the region.
Strengthening of Ebanx’s Financial Position
The $430 million fundraising round marks the largest ever equity and debt injection into the Ebanx Group, one of Latin America’s leading fintech providers. The investment was led by Advent International, a global private equity firm, with existing investors General Atlantic and Qualcomm Ventures participating in the round.
This capital injection will strengthen Ebanx’s financial position to accelerate growth in Brazil and expand its offering to other countries in Latin America. With this investment, Ebanx also plans to increase its product portfolio and offer more innovative financial services such as payments and banking solutions for individuals and businesses in the region.
With 59 percent of adult Latin Americans unbanked, the Ebanx platform is well placed to support healthy financial inclusion within the region over coming years. In addition, the new products available through the platform will be tailored specifically for Latin American customers who have adapted their payment behaviour due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The recent financing round demonstrates that substantial investments are still being made into Latin American fintech companies despite market volatility caused by Covid-19, highlighting investors’ confidence in this sector’s potential for growth. This increased support should help these companies continue to innovate and make a positive difference to financial inclusion globally throughout this challenging period.
Ebanx’s Plans for US IPO
Ebanx, one of Latin America’s leading financial technology firms, has recently secured a $430 million investment from Advent International. In addition to the funding, Ebanx plans to go public in the United States.
The latest funding brings Ebanx’s equity capital to more than $800 million since its foundation in 2012 and also values the company at around $3 billion. This new investment opens up many possibilities for Ebanx as they expand their global reach and explore upcoming opportunities in the payments industry.
The Latin American region is seen as an attractive investment space due to its large population and rapidly growing digital markets. In addition, many companies are attracted by the challenge of making traditional banking available to these unbanked communities worldwide. As such, Ebanx’s plans for a US IPO will further propel them into becoming a serious competitor in this arena by providing access to a large US customer base and helping them reach their full international potential while increasing their visibility amongst institutional investors.
The current goal of Ebanx is to launch multiple services throughout 2017 such as credit cards, instalment payments, ecommerce integrated payment solutions, and more. In addition, with this recent injection of funds from Advent International, we could soon see a huge shift in how businesses process payments across Latin America that could cause ripple effects across the globe for years.
