Brazil's antitrust regulator Cade has approved, with restrictions, Itaú Unibanco Holding SA's acquisition of a 49.9% stake in the brokerage firm XP Investimentos SA, various media reports said March 14.
Out of seven Cade directors, five have voted in favor of the acquisition, Folha De S.Paulo said. In addition, both Itaú and XP Investimentos have signed an agreement with the regulator, Valor Econômico reported.
Under the agreement, XP Investimentos' investment distribution platform should remain open to anyone interested. Any exclusivity requirement and minimum time of permanence for autonomous investment agents will not be allowed.
In addition, Itaú is prohibited from offering any investment product via XP Investimentos. Although the bank is banned from interfering with the brokerage firm's management, it is allowed to nominate two to three representatives to the firm's board.
The agreement is valid until Dec. 31, 2022, after which Cade will again review Itaú's possible purchase of a controlling stake in XP Investimentos.
In May 2017, Itaú agreed to buy the stake in XP Investimentos, representing 30.1% of the brokerage firm's voting shares, for about 6.3 billion Brazilian reais. At the time, XP Investimentos was present in 130 Brazilian cities, in addition to offices in New York, Miami, London and Geneva.
As of March 13, US$1 was equivalent to 3.26 Brazilian reais.
