Nu Holdings says no Monzo takeover plans

Nu Holdings shares fell about 10 percent on 28 September 2026, the first trading day after weekend reports of a possible takeover of the British digital bank Monzo. The stock carried a market capitalisation of $64.2 billion, with other citations near $60 billion and about $65 billion.

Nubank, the São Paulo-founded neobank behind the listing, had grown into Latin America’s largest fintech bank through a mobile app that managed credit cards and digital accounts without traditional branch costs. It went public in New York in 2021. Abroad, the group had expanded mainly by winning licences and building from scratch rather than by buying established banks. A transaction on the scale being discussed would have been by far the largest in Nubank’s history and its first banking operation outside the Americas.

On 26 September 2026, Sky News reported that Nubank and Monzo were in early takeover talks. Sources put the valuation of the British digital bank at up to £10 billion, also described as between £8 billion and £10 billion, or $10.6 billion to $13.2 billion, with the deal structured as a mix of cash and Nu Holdings stock. Monzo had hired Morgan Stanley and Qatalyst to advise on its options. The London-based challenger had launched in 2015, begun with a prepaid card, and received its full UK banking licence in 2017, after which it offered current accounts managed entirely through a mobile app. A transaction paid partly in Nu shares at those levels would have deployed capital on a scale far beyond any of the group’s earlier purchases.

On 30 September 2026 Nu Holdings filed a Form 6-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A Form 6-K is the report a foreign private issuer submits when it needs to put material information in front of U.S. investors outside its regular annual cycle. The identical clarification was distributed via Business Wire the same day, timestamped 17:02 EDT. Guilherme Souto, Investor Relations Officer, signed the document on behalf of Nu Holdings Ltd.

The filing referred to recent media reports regarding a potential transaction. As a matter of general practice, the company does not comment on individual opportunities. Given the extent of recent media speculation, however, it was providing this clarification. "While we have a great deal of respect for Monzo, the Company is not pursuing a transaction with Monzo."

In the normal course of business, Nu said, it regularly evaluates opportunities that could support its growth and long-term objectives, including partnerships, investments and acquisitions. None of that routine review amounted to a live pursuit of the British digital bank.

“Nu is highly confident and focused on its strategic priorities: deepening its position in Brazil, scaling its businesses in Mexico and Colombia, and building its presence in the United States and around the world through Nu Global.”

Mexico, first entered in 2019, had become the furthest along of those foreign bets. Nu Mexico won authorisation from the National Banking and Securities Commission in July to operate as a full bank, counted more than 15 million customers, and broke even in the first quarter of 2026, with a plan to invest $4.2 billion in the country by 2030. Colombia held more than 5 million customers under a finance-company licence rather than a full banking charter. In the United States the group had applied in 2025 for a national bank charter—the federal licence that lets a firm take deposits and lend under U.S. rules nationwide—received conditional approval in January 2026, and in September launched an interest-bearing account. Founder and chief executive David Velez put the cost of that U.S. test at $200 million to $300 million over two years.

“Nu's capital allocation framework is unchanged. Investment decisions are based on strategic fit, expected returns relative to the Company's cost of capital, long-term value creation per share, and the management and financial resources required to execute the Company's priorities.” Fit so far had meant small technology and licence purchases: Cognitect, the U.S. developer of the Clojure programming language; Akala, a savings and loan cooperative in Chihuahua, Mexico; and a July agreement to acquire Banco Porto Real de Investimentos S/A in Rio de Janeiro, including its local banking licence. None of those deals came close to a £10 billion UK bank.

Monzo’s side of the process was already moving onto a different track. The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Monzo had held early-stage talks in recent weeks with the European buyout group CVC and the U.S. private equity firm Advent International about selling a stake in the company. Monzo was seeking to sell up to 15 percent of the group. After the Nubank talks fell through, a sale to a private equity fund became Monzo’s preferred option. Advent International managed $109 billion in assets under management. The bank’s advisers planned to engage with additional fund managers. Sky News had also reported that Monzo was exploring the sale of a minority stake, with Advent listed among the private equity groups that had held early talks. The route now on the table was a partial placement with buyout capital rather than a full acquisition.

In after-hours trading after the clarification, Nu Holdings shares rose about 6 percent. City AM reported the bounce; bne IntelliNews carried the figure. Outside regular hours the New York-listed stock finally had a filed statement to price. The climb took back only a portion of the earlier ground.