Brazilian banking group Itaú Unibanco has acquired a 12.82% stake in Rede Agro Fidelidade e Intermediação S.A. (Orbia) to expand its operations.
Itaú Unibanco did not disclose the financial value of the deal, which was carried out through the bank’s subsidiaries.
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Orbia is believed to be one of the largest agribusiness marketplaces in Brazil, which offers a full suite of services in this segment ranging from planting to the marketing of commodities.
The deal is aimed at expanding Itaú Unibanco’s footprint by giving it access to Orbia’s customer base and allowing the bank to offer them easy access to credit.
The agribusiness platform connects different products and services, which streamlines the way its partners and customers transact, Itaú Unibanco noted.
Itaú Unibanco joins Bayer S.A., Yara Brazil Fertilizantes S.A. and Bravium Comércio Ltda. as Orbia’s stakeholder.
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By GlobalDataOrbia, which was launched at the end of 2019, recorded over BRL200m ($42m) in sales in the first year of operations and BRL902m ($193.83m) in 2021. In 2022, the platform aims to conduct sales worth BRL3bn ($644.67m).
The deal is yet to receive regulatory clearance from the Brazilian antitrust agency (CADE) and the Central Bank of Brazil (BACEN).
Notably, Itaú Unibanco is one of the key private players in the Brazilian banking space, and one of the largest financial institutions in Latin America.
Earlier this year, Itaú Unibanco brokered a deal to buy a 100% stake in a fully digital broker Ideal Holding Financeira and its subsidiaries.
