• The acquisition cost BRL 690 million – BRL 440 million in cash and BRL 250 million in BTG Pactual units;
• Empiricus currently has 425,000 customers and Vitreo has approximately BRL 11 billion in assets under custody, with a growth of 4% per month;
• Universa companies will continue to operate separately from BTG Pactual, maintaining the editorial independence of news sites and the independence to create and launch new products.

The Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual announced the acquisition of the Grupo Universa, a companies conglomerate that includes Empiricus, Vitreo, Money Times, Seu Dinheiro and Real Valor, for BRL 690 million – BRL 440 million in cash and BRL 250 million in units of BTG Pactual. Also, the bank may pay additional amounts over a period of 4 years, linked to operational and financial goals.

The deal is another step in the bank’s strategy to consolidate itself as one of Brazil‘s leaders in the retail investment market.

Empiricus, owner of the news sites Seu Dinheiro and Money Times, in addition to the startup Real Valor, and Vitreo have been commercial partners since 2018. Together, the two created a business model focused on the customer in which Empiricus was close to the investor, thinking about the portfolios, while Vitreo executed these investment strategies as a financial institution.

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The partnership worked successfully. Empiricus currently has 425,000 customers and Vitreo has approximately BRL 11 billion in assets under custody, with a growth of 4% per month.

BTG Pactual believes the retail investment industry has experienced significant growth in the number of investors, driving the development of new solutions to serve this new clientele. The expertise of the Universa conglomerate serves this front.

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According to BTG, Universa companies will continue to operate separately, guaranteeing the editorial independence of Empiricus Research and the news sites and the independence of creation and launch of new products by Empiricus and Vitreo.

Felipe Miranda, Caio Mesquita and Rodolfo Amstalden, founding partners of Empiricus, and George Wachsmann, CIO of Vitreo, will remain in charge of the operation and will also join BTG Pactual’s corporate structure when the operation is completed.