SoftBank-Backed Rappi Planning IPO in 2022, Co-Founder Says

(Bloomberg) -- Colombian delivery app Rappi Inc. is preparing to go public next year in what would be one of the highest-profile U.S. listings for a Latin American company.

The SoftBank Group Corp.-backed business has held informal conversations with banks, and plans to hire advisers and prepare its listing paperwork in the first half of 2022, co-founder Juan Pablo Ortega said on the sidelines of the Web Summit conference in Lisbon. An initial public offering would happen later in the year.

“We plan to IPO in the U.S next year,” he told reporters. 

A representative for Rappi said in an e-mailed statement that no conversations or external actions have been initiated regarding an IPO for the company, and that Ortega’s declarations are his “personal feelings” that don’t represent the company’s goals.   

Rappi would be the latest startup in the on-demand category to brave the public markets. Its business overlaps with DoorDash Inc. as well as Uber Technologies Inc., which are both publicly traded.

Venture capitalists are increasingly seeing Latin America as a region with potential for growth as technology adoption there catches up with more established markets. Brazilian digital bank NuBank is seeking a valuation of as much as $50.6 billion in its initial public offering.

Rappi was valued at $5.25 billion after a $500 million funding round in July, according to data provider PitchBook. Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global Management are some of its investors.

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