Itausa sells R$1.1 billion in XP shares

Itaúsa, the holding company that is Itaú Unibanco’s largest shareholder, announced today, the 7th, the sale of 12 million class A shares issued by XP, corresponding to 2.27% of the brokerage firm’s capital (disregarding treasury shares), for the approximate amount of R$ 1.1 billion. Thus, Itaúsa now holds 23,470,985 XP shares, equivalent to 4.44% of XP’s capital and 1.53% of its voting capital.

“The sale stems from the company’s strategic decision to reduce its stake in XP, as previously disclosed, as it is not a strategic asset, and the funds will be used to reinforce cash and increase the holding’s liquidity level”, he says. Itaúsa, in a material fact.

To investors, the company’s share, listed on Nasdaq, was offered in the range between US$ 19 and US$ 19.34, ending at US$ 19.10, a 1.2% discount compared to yesterday’s closing price. The holding pocketed with the transaction about US$ 229 million, or R$ 1.1 billion. It was the sixth sale organized by Itaúsa, the last one taking place in November last year, also organized by BofA. Procurados, Itaúsa, XP and BofA did not comment.

In November last year, the company had already made a similar move, taking advantage of a good moment for the papers. At the time, 15.5 million shares were sold, or 2.79% of XP’s capital. Of the total sold in the operation, 5.5 million shares were purchased by XP itself. The operation was coordinated by Bofa.

Itaúsa’s stake in XP stems from an initial stake held by Itaú Unibanco, which purchased a 49.9% stake in the platform in 2017, with the aim of acquiring control – a plan that was barred by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade).

In 2020, after XP went public on Nasdaq, however, Itaú made public its plan to dispose of its stake. The design elaborated for the transaction was to distribute the shares held in XP to its shareholders. As a result, Itaúsa held approximately 39% of the bank’s common shares and has been gradually disposing of these shares.