Pagseguro Digital (1JY) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q4, 2023
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Dec 31, 2023, filed Apr 26, 2024
Risk Change Over Time
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1PagSeguro Digital is a foreign private issuer and, as a result, in accordance with the listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, we rely on certain home country governance practices from the Cayman Islands, rather than the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.
We report under the Exchange Act as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. The NYSE rules provide that foreign private issuers are permitted to follow home country practice in lieu of certain NYSE corporate governance standards. The standards applicable to us are considerably different from the standards applied to U.S. domestic issuers. For instance, we are not required to: - have a majority of independent members on our board of directors (other than as may result from the requirements for the audit committee member independence under the Exchange Act);- have a minimum of three members on our audit committee;- have a compensation committee or a nominating and corporate governance committee;- have regularly scheduled executive sessions of our board that consist of independent directors only; or - adopt and disclose a code of business conduct and ethics for directors, officers and employees. As a foreign private issuer, we may follow home country practice from the Cayman Islands in lieu of the above requirements. Therefore, the approach to governance adopted by our board of directors may be different from that of a board of directors consisting of a majority of independent directors, and, as a result, our management oversight may be more limited than if we were subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are not foreign private issuers.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2UOL, our largest shareholder, owns 100% of our outstanding Class B common shares, which represent approximately 85.90% of the voting power of our issued share capital, and controls all matters requiring shareholder approval. This concentration of ownership and voting power limits your ability to influence corporate matters.
Our Class B common shares are entitled to 10 votes per share and our Class A common shares are entitled to one vote per share. Our Class B common shares are convertible into an equivalent number of Class A common shares and generally convert into Class A common shares upon transfer subject to limited exceptions. UOL controls our company and holds all of our outstanding Class B common shares, representing 36.79% of our issued share capital. As of March 31, 2024, UOL also held 799,804 of our outstanding Class A common shares. Because of the ten-to-one voting ratio between our Class B common shares and Class A common shares, these Class B common shares give UOL approximately 85.90% of the voting power of our issued share capital. UOL therefore controls the outcome of all decisions at our shareholders' meetings, and is able to elect a majority of the members of our board of directors. It is also able to direct our actions in areas such as business strategy, financing, distributions, acquisitions and dispositions of assets or businesses. UOL's decisions on these matters may be contrary to your expectations or preferences, and it may take actions that could be contrary to your interests. It will be able to prevent any other shareholders, including you, from blocking these actions. For further information regarding shareholdings in our company, see "Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions-Major Shareholders." If UOL sells or transfers any of its Class B common shares, they will generally convert automatically into Class A common shares, subject to limited exceptions, such as transfers to affiliates, to trustees for the holder or its affiliates and certain transfers to U.S. tax-exempt organizations. The fact that any Class B common shares convert into Class A common shares if UOL sells or transfers them means that UOL will in many situations continue to control a majority of the combined voting power of our outstanding share capital, due to the voting rights of any Class B common shares that it retains. If our Class B common shares at any time represent less than 10% of the combined voting power of our Class A common shares and Class B common shares together, however, the Class B common shares then outstanding will automatically convert into Class A common shares. For a description of the dual class structure, see "Item 10. Additional Information-Memorandum and Articles of Association."
- Debt & Financing - Risk 3BancoSeguro, PagSeguro Brazil, MOIP and PagInvest may have insufficient capital to meet the capital requirements of the CMN and the Central Bank.
Brazilian financial and payment institutions must comply with the rules of the CMN and the Central Bank on capital adequacy, including minimum capital, which generally follow the Basel III regulatory framework. We cannot guarantee that our affiliates BancoSeguro, PagSeguro Brazil, MOIP and PagInvest, upon increasing their operations, will have sufficient funds or resources available for their respective capitalization in the future, which could result in their inability to meet the capital adequacy requirements of the CMN and the Central Bank. In addition, non-compliance with capital adequacy requirements may adversely affect the ability of these affiliates to distribute dividends and interest on equity to shareholders and may adversely affect their ability to operate and lend, which could cause these affiliates to sell their respective assets or take other measures that may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. If any of BancoSeguro, PagSeguro Brazil, MOIP or PagInvest were not able to comply with these capital adequacy requirements, regulators may impose sanctions, including administrative proceedings, fines, disqualification of directors and even withdrawal of authorization, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition. Moreover, in 2022, the Central Bank enacted a set of new rules applicable to payment institutions, increasing the capital and prudential requirements to which we are subject. This framework includes Central Bank Resolutions No. 197/2022, 198/2022, 199/2022, 200/2022, 201/22 and 202/2022, all issued on March 11, 2022. These rules came into force in July 2023, and the new prudential requirements will be enforceable according to their respective implementation calendar, with full implementation taking place in January 2025. We may be subject to more strict prudential requirements as a result of this new regulatory framework. Under this new regulation, certain Brazilian operating entities in our Group structure composed of BancoSeguro, PagSeguro Brazil, MOIP and PagInvest, will be classified as a Type 3 conglomerate, which is defined as a prudential conglomerate led by a payment institution and integrated by a financial institution or other institution authorized to operate by the Central Bank subject to Law No. 4,595/64. For additional information, see "Item 4.-Regulation-Regulation of the Payment Industry in Brazil-Recent Developments on Regulatory Capital Requirements for Payment Institutions". If any of BancoSeguro, PagSeguro Brazil, MOIP or PagInvest are not able to comply with the new regulatory capital requirements, the Central Bank may impose sanctions, which could have a significant adverse effect on our operations and financial condition.
Risk Highlights Q4, 2023
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 66
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1ChangedPagSeguro Digital is a foreign private issuer and, as a result, in accordance with the listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, we rely on certain home country governance practices from the Cayman Islands, rather than the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.
We report under the Exchange Act as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. The NYSE rules provide that foreign private issuers are permitted to follow home country practice in lieu of certain NYSE corporate governance standards. The standards applicable to us are considerably different from the standards applied to U.S. domestic issuers. For instance, we are not required to: - have a majority of independent members on our board of directors (other than as may result from the requirements for the audit committee member independence under the Exchange Act);- have a minimum of three members on our audit committee;- have a compensation committee or a nominating and corporate governance committee;- have regularly scheduled executive sessions of our board that consist of independent directors only; or - adopt and disclose a code of business conduct and ethics for directors, officers and employees. As a foreign private issuer, we may follow home country practice from the Cayman Islands in lieu of the above requirements. Therefore, the approach to governance adopted by our board of directors may be different from that of a board of directors consisting of a majority of independent directors, and, as a result, our management oversight may be more limited than if we were subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are not foreign private issuers.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2ChangedUOL, our largest shareholder, owns 100% of our outstanding Class B common shares, which represent approximately 85.90% of the voting power of our issued share capital, and controls all matters requiring shareholder approval. This concentration of ownership and voting power limits your ability to influence corporate matters.
Our Class B common shares are entitled to 10 votes per share and our Class A common shares are entitled to one vote per share. Our Class B common shares are convertible into an equivalent number of Class A common shares and generally convert into Class A common shares upon transfer subject to limited exceptions. UOL controls our company and holds all of our outstanding Class B common shares, representing 36.79% of our issued share capital. As of March 31, 2024, UOL also held 799,804 of our outstanding Class A common shares. Because of the ten-to-one voting ratio between our Class B common shares and Class A common shares, these Class B common shares give UOL approximately 85.90% of the voting power of our issued share capital. UOL therefore controls the outcome of all decisions at our shareholders' meetings, and is able to elect a majority of the members of our board of directors. It is also able to direct our actions in areas such as business strategy, financing, distributions, acquisitions and dispositions of assets or businesses. UOL's decisions on these matters may be contrary to your expectations or preferences, and it may take actions that could be contrary to your interests. It will be able to prevent any other shareholders, including you, from blocking these actions. For further information regarding shareholdings in our company, see "Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions-Major Shareholders." If UOL sells or transfers any of its Class B common shares, they will generally convert automatically into Class A common shares, subject to limited exceptions, such as transfers to affiliates, to trustees for the holder or its affiliates and certain transfers to U.S. tax-exempt organizations. The fact that any Class B common shares convert into Class A common shares if UOL sells or transfers them means that UOL will in many situations continue to control a majority of the combined voting power of our outstanding share capital, due to the voting rights of any Class B common shares that it retains. If our Class B common shares at any time represent less than 10% of the combined voting power of our Class A common shares and Class B common shares together, however, the Class B common shares then outstanding will automatically convert into Class A common shares. For a description of the dual class structure, see "Item 10. Additional Information-Memorandum and Articles of Association."
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3We are a holding company and do not have any material assets other than the shares of our subsidiaries.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability. Our material assets are our direct and indirect equity interests in our subsidiaries, particularly PagSeguro Brazil, our Brazilian operating company. We are, therefore, dependent upon payments, dividends and distributions from our subsidiaries for funds to pay our operating and other expenses and to pay future cash dividends or distributions, if any, to holders of our Class A common shares or Class B common shares, and we may have tax costs in connection with any dividend or distribution. Furthermore, exchange rate fluctuations will affect the U.S. dollar value of any distributions our subsidiaries make with respect to our equity interests in those subsidiaries. See "Risks Relating to Brazil-The Brazilian government has exercised, and continues to exercise, significant influence over the Brazilian economy. This involvement as well as Brazil's political and economic conditions could harm us and the price of our Class A common shares," "Risks Relating to Our Class A Common Shares-We have not adopted a dividend policy with respect to future dividends. If we do not declare any dividends in the future, you will have to rely on price appreciation of our Class A common shares in order to achieve a return on your investment." and "Item 10. Additional Information-Memorandum and Articles of Association-Dividends and Capitalization of Profits."
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, the market price and trading volume of our Class A common shares could decline.
The trading market for our Class A common shares depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our Class A common shares could decline, which might cause the market price and trading volume of our Class A common shares to decline.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5Our dual class capital structure means our shares will not be included in certain indices. We cannot predict the impact this may have on our stock price.
In July 2017, S&P Dow Jones, a provider of widely followed stock indices, announced that companies with multiple share classes, such as ours, would not be eligible for inclusion in certain of their indices. As a result, our Class A common shares are not eligible for these stock indices. Many investment funds are precluded from investing in companies that are not included in such indices, and these funds would be unable to purchase our Class A common shares if we were not included in such indices. We cannot assure you that other stock indices will not take a similar approach to S&P Dow Jones in the future. Exclusion from indices could make our Class A common shares less attractive to investors and, as a result, the market price of our Class A common shares could be adversely affected.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability. The rights of our shareholders may be different from the rights of shareholders governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability. Our corporate affairs are governed by our Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders and the responsibilities of members of our board of directors may be different from the rights of shareholders and responsibilities of directors in companies governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions. In the performance of its duties, the board of directors of a solvent Cayman Islands exempted company is required to consider the company's interests, which is generally defined with reference to the interests of its shareholders (both present and future) as a whole, which may differ from the interests of one or more of its individual shareholders. See "Item 10. Additional Information-Memorandum and Articles of Association-Principal Differences between Cayman Islands and U.S. Corporate Law." Furthermore, the Cayman Islands enacted the International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act (As Revised), or the ESA, in January 2019. We are required to comply with the ESA and related regulations and guidelines. As we are a Cayman Islands company, compliance obligations include assessing its operations to determine the required compliance (if any) with the ESA, filing an annual notification with the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies disclosing whether we are carrying out any relevant activities within the meaning of the Economic Substance Act and to the extent required under the ESA, the filing of an annual return with the Department of International Tax Co-Operation. Where applicable, we must establish that our operations satisfy the economic substance requirements of the ESA. We are required to monitor our operations to ensure they remain in compliance with all requirements under the ESA. Failure to satisfy these requirements may subject us to penalties under the ESA.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7Our shareholders may face difficulties in protecting their interests because we are a Cayman Islands exempted company.
Our corporate affairs are governed by our Memorandum and Articles of Association, and by Cayman Islands law including, without limitation, the Companies Act and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under the laws of the Cayman Islands are not as clearly defined as under statutes or judicial precedent in existence in jurisdictions in the United States. Therefore, you may have more difficulty protecting your interests than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States, due to the comparatively less prescriptive nature of Cayman Islands law in this area. Cayman Islands statutory law in respect of schemes of arrangement does not specifically provide for shareholder appraisal rights in connection with a court sanctioned reorganization (by way of scheme of arrangement). This may make it more difficult for you to assess the value of any consideration you may receive in a merger or consolidation (which is affected by way of scheme of arrangement) or to require that the acquirer gives you additional consideration if you believe the consideration offered is insufficient. However, in respect of a merger or consolidation (which is not affected by way of scheme of arrangement), Cayman Islands statutory law, which permits a merger/consolidation without a court order, provides a mechanism for a dissenting shareholder in a merger or consolidation to require us to apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for a determination of the fair value of the dissenter's shares if it is not possible for the company and the dissenter to agree on a fair price within the time limits prescribed. Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies (such as us) have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records and accounts or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders. Our directors have discretion under our Articles of Association to determine whether, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest. Subject to limited exceptions, under Cayman Islands law, a minority shareholder may not bring a derivative action against the board of directors. Class actions are not recognized in the Cayman Islands, but groups of shareholders with identical interests may bring representative proceedings, which are similar.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8Our Memorandum and Articles of Association contain anti-takeover provisions that may discourage a third party from acquiring us and reduce the rights of holders of our Class A common shares.
Our Memorandum and Articles of Association contain certain provisions that could limit the ability of others to acquire our control, including a provision that grants authority to our board of directors to issue new shares in our company from time to time (including common shares and preferred shares) without action by our shareholders. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of the opportunity to sell their Class A common shares at a premium over the prevailing market price by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain our control in a tender offer or similar transactions. See "Item 10. Additional Information-Memorandum and Articles of Association-Anti-Takeover Provisions in our Memorandum and Articles of Association."
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9United States civil liabilities and certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.
PagSeguro Digital is a Cayman Islands exempted company and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, all of our current directors and officers are residents of Brazil, and a substantial portion of their assets is located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons. It may also be difficult to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and those officers and directors. Further, it is unclear if original actions predicated on civil liabilities based solely upon U.S. federal securities laws are enforceable in courts outside the United States, including in the Cayman Islands and Brazil. Courts of the Cayman Islands may not, in an original action in the Cayman Islands, recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state of the United States on the grounds that such provisions are penal in nature. Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize a foreign judgment in personam of a court of competent jurisdiction and give a judgment based thereon if such judgment is final, for a liquidated sum, provided it is not in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, is not inconsistent with a Cayman Islands' judgment in respect of the same matters, and was not obtained in a manner which is contrary to the public policy of the Cayman Islands. In addition, a Cayman Islands court may stay proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10Judgments of Brazilian courts to enforce our obligations with respect to our Class A common shares may be payable only in reais.
Most of our assets are located in Brazil. If proceedings are brought in the courts of Brazil seeking to enforce our obligations in respect of our Class A common shares, we may not be required to discharge our obligations in a currency other than the real. Under Brazilian exchange control laws, an obligation in Brazil to pay amounts denominated in a currency other than the real may only be satisfied in Brazilian currency at the exchange rate in effect on the date of the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice's enforcement of the obligation. These amounts are then adjusted to reflect exchange rate variations through the effective payment date and, if applicable, eventual default interest. The exchange rate at that time may not afford non-Brazilian investors with full compensation for any claim arising out of or related to our obligations under the Class A common shares. The judicial recognition process for foreign judgments before the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice may be time consuming and may also give rise to difficulties in enforcing such foreign judgment in Brazil. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that judicial recognition of a foreign judgment would be successful, that the judicial recognition process would be conducted in a timely manner or that a Brazilian court would enforce a judgment of non-Brazilian courts. Furthermore, upon its recognition by the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice, the enforcement of a foreign judgment would be delegated to a lower federal court.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11As a foreign private issuer, the disclosure requirements that we must comply with and other requirements are different from those applicable to U.S. domestic registrants.
As a foreign private issuer, the disclosure requirements that we must comply with and other requirements are different from those applicable to U.S. domestic registrants. For example, as a foreign private issuer for U.S. purposes, we are not subject to the same disclosure requirements as a domestic U.S. registrant under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, including the requirements to prepare and issue quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or to file current reports on Form 8-K upon the occurrence of specified significant events, the proxy rules applicable to domestic U.S. registrants under Section 14 of the Exchange Act or the insider reporting and short-swing profit rules applicable to domestic U.S. registrants under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we rely on exemptions from certain U.S. rules which permit us to follow Cayman Islands legal requirements rather than certain of the requirements that are applicable to U.S. domestic registrants. We follow the Cayman Islands laws and regulations that are applicable to Cayman Islands companies. However, these laws and regulations do not contain any provisions comparable to the U.S. proxy rules, the U.S. rules relating to the filing of reports on Form 10-Q or 8-K or the U.S. rules relating to liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time, as referred to above. Furthermore, foreign private issuers are required to file their annual report on Form 20-F within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, while U.S. domestic issuers that are large, accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year. Foreign private issuers are also exempt from regulation fair disclosure, aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. As a result of the above, even though we are required to file reports on Form 6-K disclosing the limited information that is material to us and which we make public pursuant to Cayman Islands law, or are required to distribute to shareholders generally, you may not receive information of the same type or amount that is required to be disclosed to shareholders of a U.S. company. We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common shares less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Class A common shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common shares and our share price may be more volatile.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 12Class A common shares eligible for future sale may cause the market price of our Class A common shares to drop significantly.
The market price of our Class A common shares may decline because of sales of a large number of our Class A common shares in the market (including Class A common shares issuable upon conversion of Class B common shares) or the perception that these sales may occur. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. As of December 31, 2023, we have outstanding 209,148,916 Class A common shares (including treasury shares) and 120,459,508 Class B common shares. All Class B common shares are beneficially owned by UOL. The Class A common shares sold in our October 2019 follow-on offering are freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, by persons other than our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 of the Securities Act. Our shareholders or entities controlled by them or their permitted transferees are able to sell their shares in the public market from time to time without registering them, subject to certain limitations on the timing, amount and method of those sales imposed by regulations promulgated by the SEC. If any of our shareholders, the affiliated entities controlled by them or their respective permitted transferees were to sell a large number of their Class A common shares, the market price of our Class A common shares may decline significantly. In addition, the perception in the public markets that sales by them might occur may also cause the trading price of our Class A common shares to decline.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 13Our Class A common shares may not be a suitable investment for all investors, as investment in our Class A common shares presents risks and the possibility of financial losses.
The investment in our Class A common shares is subject to risks. Investors who wish to invest in our Class A common shares are thus subject to asset losses, including loss of the entire value of their investment, as well as other risks, including those related to our Class A common shares, the company, the sector in which we operate, our shareholders and the general macroeconomic environment in Brazil and all other countries in the world, among other risks. Each potential investor in our Class A common shares must therefore determine the suitability of that investment in light of its own circumstances. In particular, each potential investor should: - have sufficient knowledge and experience to make a meaningful evaluation of our Class A common shares, the merits and risks of investing in our Class A common shares and the information contained in this annual report;- have access to, and knowledge of, appropriate analytical tools to evaluate, in the context of its particular financial situation, an investment in our Class A common shares and the impact our Class A common shares will have on its overall investment portfolio;- have sufficient financial resources and liquidity to bear all of the risks of an investment in our Class A common shares;- understand thoroughly the terms of our Class A common shares and be familiar with the behavior of any relevant indices and financial markets; and - be able to evaluate (either alone or with the help of a financial advisor) possible scenarios for economic, interest rate and other factors that may affect its investment and its ability to bear the applicable risks.
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