Buyout firm Advent eyes Monzo stake amid £10bn Nubank bid talks

Advent International, the private equity firm, is interested in buying a stake in Monzo, the British neobank which is in talks about a takeover which could value it at as much as £10bn.

Sky News has learnt that Advent, which recently explored a $53bn (£40bn) bid for PayPal, is one of several buyout firms which have held initial talks about acquiring a minority shareholding in Monzo.

The discussions with a small number of private equity firms have been taking place in parallel to a takeover approach from the Brazilian digital banking giant Nu Holdings, the owner of Nubank.

On Saturday, Sky News revealed that Monzo was in talks about a sale to New York-listed Nu Holdings just over a decade after it was founded, having amassed a customer base which recently surpassed 16 million.

Advent has been a prominent investor in fintech businesses for years, having owned Worldpay, the payments giant, prior to its flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

Bankers said a deal with one of its private equity suitors was only viable if the talks with New York-listed Nu Holdings stalled.

Monzo's rapid ascent has turned it into one of Britain's biggest consumer banks, with the company likely to be worth between £8bn and £10bn in any transaction.

Another option being explored by the company's board is a new round of venture capital funding, with the proceeds used to facilitate further expansion in mainland Europe.

Monzo was last valued at £4.5bn in a secondary share sale conducted in October 2024, with its value having risen very significantly during the ensuing two years.

In its most recent annual financial results, the company reported a 39% surge in revenue to £1.7bn, with adjusted pre-tax profit 20% higher at £172.6m.

Advent and Monzo declined to comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Buyout firm Advent eyes Monzo stake amid £10bn Nubank bid talks