Pawn stores operator Globcash will go public on Mexico's BIVA and open 300 new locations

MEXICO CITY, March 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Globcash, one of Mexico's leading operators of pawn stores, will go public in mid-March in BIVA and open 300 new locations.

The company has designed an ambitious growth and expansion plan that will take it to open hundreds of new stores throughout Mexico over the next 24 months.

Moreover, the company intends to increase its size and capabilities inorganically via M&A operations in both the United States and Mexico.

This is the message that Globcash's CEO, Roberto Arámburo, and his management team will convey to members of the investment community next Thursday, in a stock market event which will be broadcast live from Mexico City.

Globcash's Initial Public Offering (IPO) - under the ticker GLOBC (GLOBC: MM) - represents a milestone for the Mexican stock market, which has not seen a bell ring for almost two years.

"We are proud to be the first Mexican company to go public in years. We are committed to the profitability of our shareholders, to the society that welcomes us, and to the excellence I learned from our founder and president, Mr. José Trinidad Arámburo Sarabia," explained Roberto Arámburo. He has led the institution since 2015 and guided it through a massive process of expansion.

Globcash has been growing steadily over the past ten years, including 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic barely impacted it.

As of September 2021, it had posted total revenues of over 33,4 million USD, with an EBITDA of over 13 percent, or 4,2 million.

The company, founded in 1985, operates 194 pawn stores in Mexico under the brand Casa Mazatlán.

It is currently present in the Mexican states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Baja California Sur, Nayarit, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Chiapas.

It also operates 22 locations in Guatemala, where it has been present since 2008.

In addition, it plans to expand in the southern United States, and specifically Arizona and Texas.

Globcash's business is robust in a defensive sector with limited risk exposure. Its model allows the company to offer non-bank loans without requiring credit history or proof of income from its customers.

Clients deposit physical collateral in exchange for the loan, which is granted on preferential terms and with flexible repayment terms.

Thirty percent of its inventory, which exceeds 2,4 million USD, comprises gold and silver reserves, the leading financial instruments of refuge in times of economic contraction.

More than 13 million people resort to pawning as one of their main financing options in Mexico. Glocash provides a speedy and convenient source of financial solutions, especially for unbanked, underbanked, or credit-challenged customers. 

Globcash, through Casa Mazatlán, has a 2.9 percent share and is one of the top three private players in the Mexican pawn market.

The company comes to BIVA with a solid financial position, including zero exposure to financial debt and steady cash flow generation.

The company has never resorted to bank loans or debt issuance in its history.

Moreover, Globcash is heavily investing in developing a mighty and significant technological presence and is working on digitizing the pawn industry.

"We want to help bankarise Mexico's underbanked population. For almost 40 years, we have helped finance the needs of the country's rural communities and smaller urban centers," Arámburo explained.

"We are proud of the work we do to support Mexico's entrepreneurs outside major cities, and we stand strong with our people," he said.