Without taking his foot off M&A, Méliuz forms a partnership and opens a new way to expand the portfolio

In January of this year, as part of the strategy to add a financial portfolio to the cashback and discount coupon platform for which it became known, Méliuz announced a new version of its application, bringing together a digital account, a new credit card of its own and investments. in bitcoin.

Acquisitions have been one of the company’s main avenues to take this plan forward. But this Friday, May 20, the company is opening a new avenue in that direction by announcing a partnership with Liqi fintech, which works with digital assets and blockchain.

Initially, the agreement is restricted to the approximation between the two companies. But, at the same time, the terms foresee the potential acquisition of a minority stake in the startup by Méliuz, conditioned to the achievement of some indicators.

“This is another way for us to be close to companies and entrepreneurs that we admire”, says Israel Salmen, founder and CEO of Méliuz, to the NeoFeed. “It is undoubtedly an approach that we can use more often if we find operations that have fit with what we are doing.”

According to Salmen, the more cautious posture in possible agreements is in line with changes observed in the market. “It’s a new scenario, compared to a year and a half or two years ago,” says Méliuz’s CEO.

He points out, however, that Méliuz will not restrict its efforts to this format. In practice, the company will continue looking at possible acquisitions and investments. “We continue to review several targets and if we move forward, it will be because we found a path that made sense.”

In the case of Liqi, the path that can evolve into a potential investment is precisely through strengthening negotiations with digital currencies through the Méliuz app.

“Méliuz starts to gain liquidity in the transaction with cryptocurrencies, as it has access to the purchase of bitcoins on a new exchange, in addition to expanding the portfolio of services, generating even more opportunities for engagement and cross sell with its base of more than 23 million registered accounts”, stated Méliuz, in a statement about the partnership.

Founded in 2021, Liqi has already attracted BRL 30.5 million in two contributions, with the participation of Kinea Ventures, Itaú Unibanco’s corporate venture capital, and investors such as Oliveira Trust and Honey Island, the latter, vehicle of the founders of Ebanx.

Fintech, which recently launched its own exchange, uses blockchain technology to turn assets and businesses into digital fractions, or tokens, as they are better known in the market.

While testing this new format, Méliuz has accumulated six investments and acquisitions since going public in November 2020. The package included the companies Acesso Bank, Alter Pagamentos, Muambator, Melhor Plano, Promobit and Picodi.com.

At around 11 am, Méliuz shares were trading on the B3, with a slight drop of 0.49%, to R$ 2.05. In 2022, the papers accumulate a devaluation of more than 36%. The company is valued at R$ 1.64 billion.

Source: Neofeed