Mexico's Covalto quietly delays Nasdaq listing to 2024

LIV Capital Acquisition 2

20/04/2023 22:22

By Isabel Woodford
       MEXICO CITY, April 20 (Reuters) - Mexican digital and
banking services platform Covalto has pushed back its
much-anticipated plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange through a
special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to 2024, according to
a filing to the U.S Securities and Exchange Commision.
    The company had initially sought to go public in the first
quarter, seeking to be the first Mexican fintech to trade
publicly on a U.S. stock bourse. However, dampened markets have
seen few listings and a near-hiatus of SPACs globally so far
this year.
    The filing, published last week, shows that Covalto and its
nominated SPAC, LIVB  LIVB.O , have agreed to extend the
deadline for the merger "from May 10, 2023 to February 10,
2024."
    The filing did not give details for the reason for the
extension, but showed the transaction was still awaiting
regulatory approval.
    Covalto did not respond to a request for comment about the
SPAC delay or the financial health of the company.
    However, a source close to Covalto told Reuters late
Wednesday that the merger is still in the works, with the delay
simply down to lengthy regulatory processes with the SEC.
    "The transaction is still moving forward and working through
regulatory filings," the source told Reuters.
    The source added that Covalto's pro-forma valuation of$547
million, announced last year as a result of the merger, remained
the same.
    Founded in 2015, Covalto has some big name backers behind it
including QED investors and Goldman Sachs. 
    The company, now a licensed bank, offers loans and banking
services to Mexico's under-served small and medium sized
enterprises. 

 (Reporting by Isabel Woodford
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
 ((Isabel.Woodford@thomsonreuters.com;))