Nubank, the Brazilian digital bank which is reportedly looking to IPO later this year or early next, is seeking a $55 billion valuation in its IPO listing, according to Reuters.
The huge challenger bank has raised a whopping $2.3 billion in funding through 12 rounds, with its most recent being a huge $750 million Series G led by Berkshire Hathaway and Sands Capital.
Berkshire Hathaway purchased $500 million shares in that deal, giving Warren Buffett’s holding company a significant portion of the largest online bank in the world.
Founded in 2013, Nubank was valued at $30 billion at the time of that round. The company has over 40 million clients across Latin America and is one of the fastest growing fintech service companies worldwide.
Although the bank posted a loss of R$230 million, the company was able to turn a $1.3 million profit in the first quarter of this year, which is expected to grow.
Nubank launched its first product in 2014 with a no-free credit card managed by mobile app, and now offers a wide range of financial services including online bank accounts, insurance and loans.
The company hopes to overtake 92-year old Itau Unibanco Holding SA, the largest private sector bank in Brazil. Nubank has shown promise, with more debit cards already issued than Itau and wider geographical expansion with services being offered in Mexico and Columbia.
Reaching the $55 billion valuation target would put them right next to Itau, which has a market cap of $55.4 billion. Although sources say that Nubank is pitching a valuation as much as $100 billion, it does not look likely the challenger bank will be valued that high at the time of IPO.
Nubank officials declined to comment, according to Reuters’ report.
In other recent fintech news, B2B e-commerce platform Balance announced raising a $25 million Series A led by Ribbit Capital. Cross-border Australian fintech Airwallex also announced plans to move to the US.