Brazilian financial exchange operator B3 announced this Tuesday (19) the acquisition of the big data and artificial intelligence company Neoway for BRL1.8 billion.
According to B3, the operation will be paid with cash resources. The acquisition is a relevant step in the strategy of “accelerating its growth in areas complementary to its core business”.
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The transaction is B3’s biggest acquisition since 2017 when B3 became the main infrastructure of the Brazilian financial market. The official stock exchange in Brazil promises to reserve up to an additional R$ 200 million, over the next five years, for strategic investments linked to Neoway’s growth.
“This acquisition will allow us to combine, on the one hand, Neoway’s experience in collecting, analyzing, and organizing data from different sources, generating more value for customers with innovative products, and on the other hand, capital, credibility, and market data from the capital, vehicles, real estate, and others that only B3 has”, says B3’s CEO, Gilson Finkelsztain.
Data and analytics have been a growing source of revenue for international exchanges, and we believe that, in the case of B3, this business will gain greater focus, speed, and know-how as we bring in Neoway’s talents, track record, and successful platform.
Gilson Finkelsztain, CEO of B3
Founded in 2002, Neoway launched its big data platform in 2012, and is one of the leaders in data, analytics and artificial intelligence in Brazil, with 450 employees, more than 500 B2B clients, and projected net revenue of approximately R$190 million for 2022.
Neoway’s data structure is based on the collection of publicly accessible databases, and its products, delivered through the SaaS model (platform as a service/subscription), meet demands from several areas: from marketing and sales to credit, prevention to fraud and legal intelligence.
“Neoway and B3 share values and visions, including our commitment to a management model that relies on diversity, creativity and innovation. More importantly, we align ourselves around a common ambition: to write the history of the data market in Brazil, to democratize data and analytics and move the economy. With this transaction, we will be able to go much further”, says Neoway’s CEO, Kadu Monguillott.
The acquisition still needs to be approved at a meeting by the shareholders of B3 and depends on the approval of the Brazilian competition authorities. In a press release, B3 informs that Neoway will continue as an autonomous and independent unit within the group. The headquarters of the data company will be kept in Florianópolis.
(Translated by LABS)
