RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The digitalization process imposed by the pandemic and the rapid growth of technology companies, driven by this phenomenon, have pushed a wave of startups to the Brazilian Stock Exchange (B3). The march toward initial public offering (IPO) is expected to gain momentum, provided market volatility does not change these companies’ plans.
Investors’ appetite is great, as evidenced by the IPOs of “tech” companies early this year. Mosaico, for example, owner of Buscapé and Zoom search engines, saw its market value virtually double in its debut, marking the largest surge of a share on the first trading day in the history of the Brazilian Stock Exchange.
Now, expectations are high for names such as Movile, owner of iFood, and Nubank, which, due to the features of their funding rounds, tend to go public outside Brazil. These offerings should still take some time, but several are about to materialize, including the e-commerce company Privalia and the loyalty company Dotz.
Livetech, which operates with wireless technology and electronic building security, and Getninjas, the largest service app in Latin America, which helps find professionals for a multitude of services, are also at the front of the IPO line.
Bionexo may be the first “health tech” on the stock exchange – the company has developed software that connects hospitals and clinics with medical equipment suppliers.
According to Fábio Nazari, the BTG Pactual partner in charge of equities, one of the changes that opened the door for technology companies to join the Stock Exchange was the greater maturity of institutional investors, which are mainly stock funds. “They began to understand the business and how to price a high-growth company,” he comments. The executive says that the number of candidates in the sector for an IPO keeps growing.
In 2021 alone, Bemobi, an app and game subscription company; Westwing, a decoration company; Meliuz, a cashback company; Neogrid, a software developer; and Mobly, an online furniture sales company, will be listed on the B3. Eletromidia, an “adtech” (advertising company with a digital profile), also debuted. Last year, online thrift store Enjoei and Locaweb – the company that appreciated the most in 2020, with a 600% growth in market value – made offerings.
The head of Itaú BBA’s wholesale and investment banking areas, Cristiano Guimarães, points out that the bank has an area dedicated to technology companies, given the boom this sector has been experiencing. “The technology sector stands out for the growth potential of its shares and the digitalization agenda, which also helped the development of many of these companies in 2020,” he explains.
Lucas Chaise, head of technology coverage at XP’s investment bank, says that the pandemic in fact explains the growth rate of these companies. “They had very high growth before, something that quickened in the pandemic.”
Now, one of the changes that the market will begin to notice, given this new phenomenon, is technology companies joining the B3’s main index, the Ibovespa. According to him, given the liquidity of the negotiation, Locaweb should soon climb its position in the index.
With a focus on technology company buyers, KPTL management company has some startups in its portfolio that are potential candidates for an IPO in B3. “It’s going to be a natural path, we will not be left out of this alternative to disrupt the position of our funds,” says KPTL’s CEO, Renato Ramalho. Its portfolio includes startups such as Agrotools, which provides digital solutions to agribusiness, and Magnamed, which develops and manufactures pulmonary ventilators and modular anesthesia equipment and saw its business boom during the pandemic.
Source: O Estado de S. Paulo