StoneCo shares pop 33 percent in debut, hits $9 billion valuation

Brazil-based StoneCo Ltd's shares rose as much as 34.1 percent in their US market debut on Thursday, giving the credit card processor a market value of $8.88 billion. The company's shares opened at $32, a third above its initial public offering price of $24.
StoneCo sold 50.72 million shares on Wednesday, above the expected price range, raising $1.22 billion in total proceeds, which it expects to use for acquisitions. Stockholders sold 4.9 million shares.
StoneCo has attracted interest from several big-name backers including Jack Ma's Ant Financial, the operator of China's biggest online payment platform, which has agreed to invest $100 million in the IPO, and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc which has expressed an interest to buy up to 14.2 million shares.