Bradesco, one of Brazil’s leading banks, and Portugal’s Banco Espírito Santo have joined forces to create a new private equity company that will operate in Brazil.
The company, known as 2bCapital, will be jointly controlled by Bradesco’s asset management subsidiary, BRAM, and Espírito Santo Capital, the Portuguese bank’s subsidiary. BRAM is the second-largest private fund manager in Brazil, with R$160 billion ($89 billion) in assets under management from 3.3 million investors. The partners hope that Bradesco’s presence in Brazil will pair well with Banco Espírito Santo’s long-standing international presence in the private equity market.
2bCapital hopes to raise a R$500 million fund, with R$50 million seed capital from each partner, that will be open to domestic and international investors. Investments will focus on companies in pre-selected sectors with annual revenues above R$100 million that have high growth potential and strong management. Minority and controlling stakes will be taken. Manuel de Sousa, who is head of ES Capital, will become managing director of 2bCapital.
Separately, on September 23 Bradesco priced $750 million in tier 2 bonds due 2019 at par to yield 6.75%. This was more than the $500 million expected and was also the first Brazilian tier 2 bond since 2006.