New York-headquartered stock trading app Webull has acquired investment platform Flink to mark its entry into the Mexican market.
The deal, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, also includes the Mexican brokerage house Vifaru Casa de Bolsa, which Flink agreed to purchase in May 2022.
Webull is leveraging the purchase of the pair to extend the reach of its digital investment platform, which enables users to invest in global stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options and fractional shares, as well as offering cash management services.
Aside from its imminent launch in Mexico, Webull currently operates in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, Australia and Indonesia.
Founded in 2017, Mexico City-based Flink provides investors in Mexico with access to ETFs and fractional shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange without commissions. It has raised around $70 million to date, including a $57 million Series B in August 2021, with backers including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Clocktower, ALLVP and Accel.
Flink is set to integrate its new owner’s proprietary technology “over the coming months” ahead of plans to launch regional investment and cash management products. Its customers’ access to trading US stocks will remain unaffected.
Speaking on the acquisition, Ruben Guerrero, Webull’s head of Latin America, describes the Mexican market as “a young and vibrant population that has a strong and untapped demand for technology-based wealth building solutions”.
Guerrero adds that its technology is “a perfect fit for Mexico”, where the company plans to develop and introduce “a broader set of investment products”.
Anthony Denier, head of the Americas and Europe at Webull, says it will use the acquisition “as a springboard” into the wider region, where Denier believes “there is a strong desire among retail investors to access global markets”.
