BTG Pactual’s announcement that it will merge with, or rather buy, Chile’s Celfin created much media excitement. The prominent coverage from the financial daily media can be taken as yet further evidence of the interest in, and importance of, Latin America. But is this announcement really proof that the prophesized global BTG is coming into existence?
The deal, of course, makes sense for both parties. BTG gets access to a solid Chilean asset management business and one with potential for Andean growth. The Mila project – Chile, Colombia and Peru’s integrated cross-trading platform – is still alive and Celfin is looking to expand into Colombia. And being part of the BTG group will provide Celfin with the access to Brazil that its clients will increasingly value – defending their share of wallet within the Chilean market.
BTG’s ambition for foreign expansion is not a secret. And yet the news that Celfin was in talks with BTG sparked a fresh wave of analysis that the Brazilian bank was on the verge of dominating Latin America, of breaking into the US, of adding significant retail businesses, of becoming a big global bank: a Latin American Goldman Sachs without the bad press.