- Magalu has first announced the BRL 290 million deal in December;
- The payments fintech will enhance Magalu’s payments arm with services such as transfers, PIX (Brazil’s instant payment system), bill payments, deposits, cash withdrawals at ATMs, among others;
Brazil’s largest retail chain Magazine Luiza got the green light from the country’s antitrust watchdog, Cade, to acquire 100% of the share capital of Hub Fintech. The BRL 290 million deal was first announced in December.
Hub Fintech has solutions such as a digital account and a prepaid card to the end-user and a platform that also provides prepaid card processing services, serving customers in various segments such as retail, mobility, financial institutions and fintechs.
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With the acquisition, Magalu Pay, Magazine Luiza’s payments vertical will allow transfers, PIX (Brazil’s instant payment system), bill payments, deposits and cash withdrawals at ATMs. A prepaid card for physical transactions and services such as cellphone top-up and transport vouchers will also be available for users.
With the deal, over 29 million Magalu’s end-users and the 40,000 sellers in the marketplace are able to have a digital bank account, free of charge and fully integrated with Magalu’s superapp.
“Hub’s acquisition fast forwards in many years the development journey of our payments platform, both for legal entities and individuals,” said Frederico Trajano, CEO of Magalu, back in December.
“We analyzed dozens of fintechs on the market. The process was long because we had interests very specific. We were looking for an asset light target, with strong proprietary technology and access to the Brazilian Payment System.”
