SAO PAULO/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Brazilian digital bank Nubank has invested $150 million in Time Group, a digital bank with 15 million customers in South Africa and the Philippines, as it expands into Southeast Asia and plans to go public. It was announced that it would be used to raise funds. By 2028.
NuBank said in a statement on Monday that Time Group's Series D funding round totaled $250 million, with M&G Catalyst Fund underwriting $50 million and existing shareholders providing a further $50 million.
Having completed its latest investment round, Singapore-based Time Group, backed by China's Tencent, also secured funding for a total valuation of $1.5 billion, achieving unicorn status, a separate statement said. mentioned in. Unicorn status refers to startups with a valuation of more than $1 billion.
Karl Westwig, CEO of Timebank South Africa, said: “This funding will further our growth strategy and help us achieve our stated goal of becoming a top three retail bank in South Africa over the next three years. We will be able to make it happen.”
“Furthermore, our large and established network of global investors including GIC, Berkshire Hathaway, as well as the enhanced credibility and market visibility of our partnership with NuBank, will enable us to leverage our potential through 2028.” It will help pave the way for the group towards listing,” he added.
Time Group co-founder and CEO Cohen Jonker told Bloomberg in June that the company was considering a New York listing, with a possible secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. He said that he has a high level of sexuality.
Tyme Group operates in South Africa through TymeBank, which was founded in 2019 and has 10 million customers. In October 2022, the company partnered with Gokongwei Group to launch GoTyme, the second digital bank in the Philippines.
The group is currently preparing to expand into Vietnam and Indonesia.
Time Group's largest shareholder is African Rainbow Capital, run by African billionaire Patrice Motsepe.
(Reporting by Andre Romani in São Paulo and Nqobile Doldola in Johannesburg; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle and Jamie Freed)
