Tech Firm Nuvei’s Potential IPO Could Be Biggest Of 2020

Nuvei Technologies Corp., the Montreal-based payment technology company, is planning to file an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. and Canada next month, sources told Bloomberg News.

If Nuvei’s IPO gets the green light from regulators, it could be the largest Canadian technology IPO of 2020.

In December, Nuvei completed a $270 million equity financing deal. The investment came from its existing shareholders, the Canadian private-equity firm Novacap and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, one of the largest Canadian institutional investors. The financing deal put the company’s value at $2 billion and allowed Nuvei to plot its growth, it said at the time.

If Nuvei goes public, a source told Bloomberg the IPO would boost that valuation. Founded in 2003, Nuvei’s platform connects to all major payment card schemes worldwide, and supports more than 450 local and alternative payment methods and 150 currencies.

Last summer, Nuvei bought the omnichannel payments firm SafeCharge International Group for $889 million. The London-based proprietary payment platform connects more than 150 local payment methods to major players, including Visa and Mastercard.

“By marrying SafeCharge’s market-leading technology and Nuvei’s established distribution channels in the U.S. and Canada, Nuvei will now be able to deliver fully-supported payment solutions to its clients and distribution networks, regardless of size, vertical or geography,” said David Lewin, partner at Novacap, in a statement at the time.

Earlier this month, Nuvei announced it won approval for sports wagering in the state of Indiana. The approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission authorizes the company to provide payment services for sports betting transactions in the state. Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal ban on sports betting. Since then, 75 percent of states have legalized sports wagering or have applied to do so.

The news service reported that Nuvei’s potential listing coincides with many U.S. technology IPOs. Among the companies that filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week include Snowflake Inc. and Unity Software Inc.

Caisse de depot declined to comment. Neither Nuvei nor Novacap responded to requests seeking comment.