Itaú buys Ideal digital brokerage

Itaú Unibanco said this Thursday (13) that it has reached an agreement to acquire the digital brokerage Ideal in the conglomerate’s first move in the sector since it sold its stake in XP.

Itaú will pay approximately R$650 million for a 50.1% interest in Ideal and will have the right to acquire the remaining 49.9% after five years.

According to Itaú, the acquisition will allow, among other factors, “the offer of financial products and services in a B2B2C model”, the acceleration of the market entry of autonomous investment agents and the improvement in the distribution of investment products to individual customers.

Created in 2019, Ideal provides infrastructure for electronic trading and direct market access for investors.

“In practice, clients from different segments of the bank, such as iti, ion or even Itaú Corretora, will be able to have access to the same products on the platforms they prefer”, said the executive president of Itaú Unibanco, Milton Maluhy.

Itaú stated that Ideal will continue to operate as a separate entity from the rest of the group.

Itaú bought 49.9% of XP in 2018 and planned to take control of the company a few years later, but the Central Bank prevented the transaction for reasons of defense of competition. After that, Itaú decided to deliver XP shares directly to its shareholders mainly to avoid potential conflicts of interest between the two institutions.

“Through this platform, the bank will advance in its strategy of distributing investment products to individual customers through alternative distribution channels, in partnership with Ideal”, says Itaú, in a note.

The bank goes on to say that the deal may contribute to the improvement of the business infrastructure, and, in the future, accelerate the bank’s entry into the market of autonomous agents, in addition to the model used today.

“The company will play an important role in consolidating Itaú Unibanco’s investment ecosystem and maintaining our market leadership. Through Ideal’s platform, we see the possibility of expanding the offer of Itaú Unibanco’s investment products within the B2B models and B2B2C”, said Carlos Constantini, director who heads the Wealth Management & Services (WMS) area at Itaú Unibanco

The conclusion of the transaction is subject to the approvals of the competent regulatory bodies —Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense and BC (Central Bank).

Rodrigo Crespi, an analyst at Guide Investimentos, welcomes the bank’s move. “The investment in Ideal reinforces Itaú Unibanco’s commitment to its customers in the search for solutions in a rapidly expanding market, allowing the expansion of the offer of products and services in the most convenient channels for each customer profile”, points out the specialist.

Itaú Unibanco shares were up around 1.9% this Thursday (13) on B3 around 1:20 pm. The Ibovespa, the main stock index in the local market, oscillated close to stability.

Crespi also recalls that the acquisition is the second major operation announced in the sector in less than a week. On January 7, XP Investimentos announced the purchase of Banco Modal for around R$3 billion. The brokerage founded by Guilherme Benchimol had already announced on January 4 the acquisition of a minority stake in the stock analysis house Suno Research.

Collaborated with Lucas Bombana