The popular stock trading app, Webull, has made a significant acquisition by purchasing the Mexican investment platform Flink. While the financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed, this acquisition marks a significant step for Webull in entering the Mexican market.
Webull, despite having its roots in China, is headquartered in the United States and has emerged as a competitor to Robinhood in the country, offering a low-commission online trading platform that also includes cash management. Recently, the company relocated its global headquarters from New York to St. Petersburg, Florida.
On the other hand, Flink, based in Mexico City, was founded in 2017 and has raised $70 million in financing, including a $57 million Series B announced in August 2021. Its investors include Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, ALLVP, Clocktower, and Mantis Venture Capital. The startup specializes in offering Mexican consumers a way to invest in fractional shares of U.S. publicly traded companies without incurring commissions.
This acquisition not only includes Flink but also involves the purchase of Vifaru Casa de Bolsa, a Mexican brokerage that Flink agreed to acquire in May 2022. The platform launched its app in 2018, initially offering wallet services and a digital and physical global debit card backed by Mastercard. Then, in 2020, they began allowing users to buy and sell fractional shares for as little as MXN $30, without applying commissions, for stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange. By August 2021, they already had 1.6 million users, although the current number has not been disclosed.
Rubén Guerrero, Webull’s director for Latin America, noted that the Mexican market is young and vibrant, with untapped demand for technological wealth-building solutions. He believes that Flink’s initial success is evidence of this demand and that Webull’s strategy of providing affordable access to global markets in all economies aligns perfectly with Mexico.
Flink’s customers will continue to have access to trading U.S. stocks through the Flink platform. In the coming months, Webull plans to integrate its own technology into the platform and launch local investment and cash management products in Mexico.
Who is Webull?
Webull, whose trading platform was launched in the United States in 2018, is a subsidiary of a SEC-registered brokerage and a member of FINRA. Currently, it has more than 8 million accounts open worldwide. With the addition of Mexico, Webull now operates in nine markets, including the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
This acquisition not only represents an expansion for Webull but also strengthens Flink’s presence in the Mexican investment market. Both companies aim to democratize access to investment and offer financial opportunities to a broader audience in Mexico and beyond.
