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Nubank Exploring £8bn to £10bn Acquisition of Monzo
Confirmed
In Short: According to Sky News, the talks are at an early stage, with Nubank approaching Monzo about a possible combination. Monzo's board is currently exploring two options: a sale to Nubank or a new funding round that would value Monzo at more than £8 billion.
Nubank, headquartered in São Paulo, is reportedly in talks to acquire Monzo, the UK-based digital bank, in a deal that could value Monzo at up to £10 billion. The acquisition would bring together two of the world's leading digital banking businesses, with Monzo's rapidly expanding UK and European presence joining Nubank's extensive customer base in Latin America.
Monzo's annual report shows the company made a pretax profit of £87.3 million for the year ended March 31, 2026, up from £60.5 million the previous year, with revenue growing to £1.7 billion from £1.2 billion.
Nubank, listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of about $65.5 billion, has been laying groundwork outside Latin America for more than a year. Nubank founder David Vélez told Reuters at Davos in January 2025 that he was considering moving the group's legal domicile to Britain.
Monzo was last valued at £4.5 billion in an employee share sale in October 2024, to investors including Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and StepStone Group. The potential acquisition would more than double Monzo's value.
Monzo has hired Morgan Stanley and Qatalyst Partners to advise on the deal, which could hand the keys of Britain's most recognizable digital bank to a company most of its customers have never heard of.
A Nubank sale is the headline grabber, but Monzo is simultaneously exploring a fresh funding round of its own that would also value the company above £8 billion, with the money earmarked for expansion into mainland Europe.
Either route gets Monzo to roughly the same number, but only one ends with Monzo still being Monzo.
Nubank does not comment on rumors or speculation, and neither Monzo nor Nubank has announced a deal. British and Brazilian regulators would examine the effects on customers, competition, and financial stability.
The deal would give Nubank a foothold in the UK, where Monzo built its business around mobile banking, current accounts, and personal finance tools. Monzo would gain a potential path into Nubank’s customer base and operating model in Brazil and other Latin American markets.
What's confirmed
- • London-based Monzo made a pretax profit of £87.3 million for the year ended March 31, up from £60.5 million a year earlier, with revenue growing to £1.7 billion from £1.2 billion, according to its annual report.
- According to Sky News, Monzo is in early talks on a sale to Nubank, the Sao Paulo based fintech giant, at a valuation of roughly £8 billion to £10 billion.
- Monzo’s board is weighing a possible £8bn-£10bn sale to Brazil’s Nubank, while private equity firm Advent International has separately explored buying a minority stake, Sky News reported this weekend.
- Monzo, the UK digital bank, is fielding two separate approaches at once: takeover talks with Brazil’s Nubank and private-equity interest from Advent International in a minority stake.
- Sky News reported yesterday that Monzo’s board is in early-stage talks over a sale to Nu Holdings’ Nubank (NYSE: NU) that could value the London-based lender at £8bn to £10bn.
- A follow-up Sky News report, published today, said Advent International, alongside other buyout firms, has separately held initial talks about buying a sizeable minority stake in Monzo.
- Bankers cited by Sky News said a minority-stake deal with a private equity firm would only proceed if the Nubank talks stall, framing Nubank as the more advanced option and Advent’s interest as a parallel, contingent track.
- The reported £8bn-£10bn range would roughly double the £4.5bn valuation Monzo achieved in October 2024, when Singapore’s GIC and StepStone Group bought into an employee and secondary share sale.
- Monzo, which now has more than 16 million customers, has grown revenue and profit sharply: Reuters, citing Monzo’s annual report, put statutory pretax profit at £87.3m for the year to 31 March 2026, up from £60.5m a year earlier, on revenue of £1.7bn.
What's still developing
- The talks are understood to be at an early stage, with Nu Holdings, the parent company of Nubank, having approached Monzo about a possible combination.
- • An acquisition by Nubank is one of two options Monzo’s board is currently exploring, Sky News said, citing a source close to the process.
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- As recently as May 2025, Monzo was reported to be preparing a London listing at a valuation of about £6 billion.
- That is exactly what Vélez is working on: just a few weeks ago, Nubank launched in the United States with an account paying 3.5 percent interest, a cash-back credit card and free transfers to Latin America.
- The British bank’s numbers are impressive, UKTN reports: A sale would, however, bury Monzo’s long-held plans to go public.
- Nubank has built its reputation through app-based banking, credit products and low-cost services for customers who had limited access to traditional banks.
- Brazilian regulators would assess any change to Nubank’s local operations, ownership structure and ability to serve customers.
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- A person close to the matter said a sale is one of two options for Monzo’s board and shareholders.
- Meanwhile, Monzo declined to comment, and Nu Holdings said it does not respond to market rumours.