Fintech Stone&Co has received several non-binding offers for its Linx software unit, but proposals so far are below the amount paid for the asset in 2020, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations.
New York-listed Stone&Co bought Linx for 6.7 billion reais four years ago.
So far, 20 potential buyers have signed confidentiality agreements to gain access to information about the sale, two of the sources told Reuters. Out of 20, six companies presented non-binding offers.
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Software company Totvs and Canadian Constellation Software are among the companies interested, according to the same sources.
Totvs confirmed on Tuesday that it may present a non-binding proposal for the company, but stated that it has not yet made any proposal for the acquisition of Linx.
Constellation did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Stone&Co said it would not comment.
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A source familiar with the negotiations said some of the offers made so far were more than 50% below what Stone&Co paid for Linx four years ago.
Another source said there were higher bids than that, noting that Stone would probably not consider selling Linx for much less than 5 billion reais.
Reuters reported in September that Stone had hired JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to sell Linx.
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The company later confirmed that it had hired advisors to explore potential alternatives for its software business, adding that it had not set a specific deadline for completing any transaction.
Stone is in a comfortable financial position and has no urgency to sell Linx, one of the sources said.
This month, Stone&Co announced a share buyback program worth up to 2 billion reais.
