BTG Pactual, Brazil's largest independent securities firm, on Friday took the first step towards a possible initial share offering by filing a request with regulators to become a publicly listed company. The plan does not imply "imminent" share or debt offerings in the Brazilian markets, BTG Pactual said in a statement.
The request, which was filed earlier in the day, will strengthen the bank's capital base and enhance transparency and corporate governance standards, it said. The Sao Paulo-based firm, a powerhouse that Chief Executive Andre Esteves and his partners formed when they bought back Banco Pactual from UBS AG in 2009, has been the subject of speculation over a potential share sale. Esteves set himself the goal of making BTG Pactual the largest securities firm from an emerging-market country by the end of the decade.
The bank raised $1.8 billion from the sale of an 18.6 percent stake to a group of investors from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America and Latin America - valuing the shop at about $10 billion. The capital injection bolstered BTG Pactual's capital base, helping it gain muscle to grow into merchant and investment banking as well as private equity.
Esteves and partners have long considered an initial public offering to bulk up the bank's capital, but postponed the plans because of volatility in global markets. Last December, he said an IPO was still possible in the medium term. Local media have reported that no share offering would take place until 2012.
Esteves, 42, a mathematician who started as a computer technician at Banco Pactual before rising through the ranks to become its managing partner, sold the firm to UBS in May 2006 for about $2.5 billion. He and some partners bought back Pactual for about $2.5 billion in 2009.
Comments
Comments are closed.