Santander Brasil SA, the Brazilian unit of Spain's biggest lender, agreed to acquire Getnet Tecnologia em Captura e Processamento de Transacoes H.U.A.H. SA for 1.1 billion reais ($490 million) to expand in the card payment-processor business.
Santander Brasil's SGS unit, a joint venture created by the bank and Getnet, will pay 1.02 billion reais right away and 84 million reais in five annual installments, according to a regulatory filing today. The Sao Paulo-based lender said the transaction needs to be approved by Brazil's central bank and the nation's antitrust regulator, known as Cade.
The deal comes 18 months after Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Latin America's largest bank by assets, paid 11.8 billion reais to purchase the 50 percent of card processor Redecard SA it didn't own. Revenue from credit- and debit-card transactions in Brazil rose 18 percent in 2013 and will probably expand 17 percent this year, according to the nation's association of credit-card operators, Abecs.
Brazil's economy will grow 1.6 percent this year, according to a central bank survey of about 100 analysts published today.
Santander Brasil rose 1.6 percent to 12.80 reais in Sao Paulo at 10:26 a.m., while Brazil's benchmark index Ibovespa gained 1 percent.
