Itaú Unibanco buys digital brokerage firm Ideal and will accelerate the distribution of retail investments

SÃO PAULO, Jan. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Itaú Unibanco announces the acquisition of a stake in Ideal, a 100% digital and cloud-based brokerage company created in 2019 and one of the leaders in traded volume – both for spot and futures markets – on B3, the Brazilian stock market.

The complete purchase will be carried out in two stages. First, Itaú Unibanco acquires 50.1% of the share capital of Ideal through a primary contribution and a secondary acquisition of shares, adding up to BRL 651.3 million, taking control of the company. In the second stage, after five years, the bank can use its right to purchase the remaining 49.9% of the company's share capital. The completion of the operation is subject to the approvals of the competent regulatory authorities (CADE and Banco Central).

Nilson Monteiro, Ideal's CEO, will continue leading the operations with the other founding partners. The management and conducting of Ideal's business will remain autonomous regarding Itaú Unibanco, which will become another institution served by the brokerage.

Among the advantages for Itaú Unibanco is the possibility of counting on the talent and expertise of Ideal's professionals, recognized for their high capacity to innovate, and the company's trading platform's modern technology. Through this platform, the bank will distribute investment products to individual customers through alternative distribution channels, in partnership with Ideal. 

This operation may also contribute to the improvement and modernization of the infrastructure used by Itaú and, in the future, accelerate the bank's debut into the market of autonomous agents, in addition to the model used today.

"This investment materializes our mantra of client centrality because they are the ones who will get the most out of the transaction. Ideal is going to help us expand and standardize the offer for different channels," says Milton Maluhy Filho, president of Itaú Unibanco. "Customers from various segments of the bank, such as iti, ion, or even Itaú Corretora, will be able to have access to the same products on whichever platform they prefer," he adds.

According to Carlos Constantini, director in charge of Wealth Management & Services (WMS) of Itaú Unibanco, the investment will also benefit the offer of current products and services. "Ideal has a team recognized by the market and a well-defined strategy for its segment of activity. This structure will be maintained and will continue to operate with autonomy so that we can take advantage of the full capacity of the broker and the benefits of working with one of the market leaders. The company will play an important role in consolidating Itaú Unibanco's investment ecosystem and maintaining our market leadership. With the Ideal platform, we see the possibility of expanding the offer of investment products of Itaú Unibanco within the B2B and B2B2C models," says the executive.

"Ideal was created from the ambition that we could transform the market. We have established ourselves as a benchmark in customer experience, technology, and disruptive spirit in just over two years. Joining Itaú, in addition to being a privilege, is a sign that we are in the right direction. From the beginning of the conversations, it was evident that this new chapter in our history would have to be with Itaú. We have a lot to contribute to the bank's digital transformation, and Ideal will have immense learning potential and gain scale. But, more importantly, the alignment of principles and values between the companies has always been clear – and this is the crucial condition for any long-term project to succeed," says Nilson Monteiro.

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About Itaú Unibanco
Itaú Unibanco is a digital bank with the convenience of physical banking. We are in 18 countries and have more than 60 million customers, including individuals and companies from all segments, to whom we offer the best experiences in financial products and services. We have a strategic agenda focused on customer centrality, which goes through two transformations: cultural and digital, both sustained by the diversity of our people. For the 22nd consecutive time, we were selected to be part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), the only Latin American financial institution to integrate the index since its creation in 1999.

About Ideal
Launched in 2019, Ideal is a brokerage connecting investors, the financial industry, and the market in an innovative and highly technological way. It serves institutional clients and, through partnerships, the retail segment. It only acts on agency-only basis, without conflicts of interest, and is distinguished by its technological DNA and operational robustness. In its two years of operation, the broker has already established itself among the ranking leaders in B3.

SOURCE Ideal