TTR DealMaker Q&A with Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados Partner Guilherme Bueno Malouf
Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados Partner Guilherme Bueno Malouf is Head of the Business Law Department, which covers our M&A and Private Equity, Corporate, and Capital Markets practices. Expert in M&A transactions, private equity investments, organization of structured investment funds, especially Equity Investment Funds (FIP), Real Estate Investment Funds (FII), and Credit Rights Investment Funds (FIDC). Has extensive experience in the food and beverage, steel, cement, real estate, energy, services, technology, and retail. Part of the Asian Desk of the firm.
TTR – To begin with, Mr. Malouf, could you give us your opinion on the progress of the Brazilian M&A market in 2019?
It has been a good year for M&A, with a high number of transactions. Most active sector has been technology, but other sectors, such as oil&gas, health, education, real estate and timber have also been active.
We have seen some interesting high-end transactions involving Petrobras, Hapvida, Positivo, Madero and Cecrisa and our firm has been involved in a number of them.
TTR – You have advised in M&A deals in the technology sector, the most active in the country in recent years. So, what can you tell us about the evolution of this sector?
We have seen lots of deals and increasing competition in Brazil. Many of these transactions have been consummated in record-breaking timeframes. In terms of evolution, I would say that many players, who initially approached these transactions with a venture capital mindset (i.e., less concerned about liabilities and indemnification) realized that in Brazil tax and labor issues require a deeper analysis, not only to validate the business model of the enterprise, but also to identify potential liabilities and allow the investor to negotiate a suitable protection (i.e., indemnity and collateral).
TTR – What other sectors do you think can follow in its footsteps and why?
I think actually it is the other way around. The tech world is now balancing more and adjusting to the more traditional M&A standards. It is not impossible, however, that the fast-moving approach commonly seen in tech deals be replicated in other sectors, but this still remains to be seen.
TTR – Following from the previous question, and as an expert in the field, how has the development of the technology sector affected the legal concept of Intellectual Property? What new challenges arise from it?
Technology development and centricity on data are bringing questions about the extension of ownership and intellectual propriety rights. Issues related to ownership of personal data databases, scrapping information from public available sources, fair use with respect to copyright and disputes what constitutes unfair competition will become more and more frequent and complex. A bigger issue to be addressed is related to copyright in connection to works created by Artificial Intelligence, which is already a reality. To what extent such works will be copyrightable in light of the fact that are not human creations? We are not yet close to any consensus about how to deal with several of those issues but the implications to the intellectual property concept are evident.
TTR – Another of your areas of expertise is capital markets. After its start at the beginning of the year, how do you rate its operation so far in 2019? What is your forecast for the end of the year?
2019 has been a very good year for capital markets. CVM (the Brazilian SEC) has registered 14 public offering of equity securities, totaling more than R$35 billion. This is a huge increase from the average of the previous years. In addition, a total of 38 “limited effort” public offering of equity securities (known as “476 offerings”) have already been completed and involved a total of R$32 billion. Our debt market (debentures) has remained hot as well.
We continue very active and our projections are for a very active end of 2019 and beginning of 2020.
TTR – Finally, also considering your experience in Private Equity, how do you expect that type of investment to progress?
Structure-wise, the use of FIPs (our private equity investment fund) by foreign PE firm has been under a huge scrutiny of tax authorities. My perception, though, is that the current administration wants to foster foreign investments, including PE investments, and that a middle ground solution will be set. The enactment of the “economic freedom act” is an indication of that.
Venture and Seed Capital investors tend to be more innovative, and many times structure their investments either through an offshore vehicle (whose sole asset is the investment in the Brazilian target) or through loans or debt securities. Such structures allow the investor not only an easier exit but also enhanced protection against liabilities of the target companies (that in Brazil many timed pierce the corporate veil and are attributed to shareholders).
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Rules and Advantages of using Insurance for
M&A Transactions
Transactions involving purchase and
sale, incorporations and mergers, generically denominated as mergers and
acquisitions transactions (“M&A”),
encompass a variety of different structures that, as a rule, involve the
transfer of a set of rights and obligations between buyers and sellers, where
the risks – despite the sincere efforts of the due diligence teams involved –
are not entirely known by the buyers when the transaction contracts (“Contracts”) are executed.
In fact, given the uncertain nature
of the business activities, it is possible that even the sellers are not aware
of all the factors and events, past and present, which can materially impact
the futures of their companies.
Therefore, in order to become
predictable, these Contracts use representations and warranties (“R&W”) clauses. A useful mechanism
for the sharing of risks inherent to M&A deals, the R&W allocate such
risks to those best prepared to support them. In effect, more than in other
sections of the Contracts, it is in the R&W that value in M&A
transactions can be created or destroyed.
In practice, these kinds of clauses
are structured in the form of statements about the company being acquired (the
“Target”) which are made by seller
and that work as a set of assumptions about the transaction’s economic
conditions. In case of any incorrectness or inaccuracy of such clauses, buyer
will be allowed to seek for the pre-established contractual remedies.
In this stage, the possible
measures/remedies vary as wildly as M&A structures themselves, although the
following are almost always included in the Contracts: (i) indemnity assurances
through which the seller is obligated to reimburse the buyer for damages resulting
from the violation of the R&W in question; and (ii) the contracting of
escrow account administration services, through which part of the funds
necessary for the completion of the transaction are unavailable to the parties
and under the management of an independent banking institution that will either
return them to the buyer – to the extent
the R&W are not complied with – or, if they are fully observed, deliver
them to the seller at the end of the term agreed to in the relevant Contract.
Representations and Warranties Insurance
The main purpose of the Representations
and Warranties insurance (“R&W
Insurance”) – the object of this text – is to ensure compliance with the R&W.
Such policies can be taken out by either the buyer or the seller side. As an
alternative to the remedies above, R&W Insurance presents a series of
advantages, namely:
during
pre-closing, it reduces the distress between buyers and sellers regarding the representations
and warranties to the extent the burdens resulting from their violation are
supported by the insurer, an independent third party;
during
post-closing, if the buyer and seller remain in contact, whether because it was
not a full sale, or because the seller continues to participate in the Target’s
management, distress is avoided as any R&W violations will be dealt with
through the insurer and not between the parties;
speeds
up indemnity payments, mainly because these payments made through insurance are
typically less susceptible to litigation than if they were made directly
between the parties;
buyers
are able to access better financing conditions to the extent that the Target’s
activity is subjected to less unexpected events;
ensures
that R&W violations are indemnified regardless of the seller’s financial
condition;
allows
buyers and sellers to cut ties faster – whether through indemnity agreements or
the establishment of escrow accounts, after closing the seller is typically
prohibited from freely accessing the funds resulting from the transaction; this
situation can be especially inconvenient for investment funds with defined duration
term or to any party wishing to use such funds for other purposes; and
with
the trend of decrease of the interest rates, depending on the seller’s capital
cost, taking on a R&W Insurance policy can be more financially advantageous
(with the resulting improvement of the RoR of other investments) compared to
keeping large sums deposited in an escrow account.
Created in 1997 in the US, R&W
Insurance took a while to gain market, but it has grown significantly in recent
years. In 2017, for example, 34% of the M&A transactions with values
between US$ 25 million and US$ 1 billion counted with R&W Insurance, while
the corresponding figure for 2016 was 20%.
Still in 2017, R&W Insurance policies were taken out in 75% of M&A transactions where private equity funds figured as buyers [1].
In addition to the larger market
penetration, over time, R&W Insurance products have become more flexible.
In principle, insurers offering these products were quite reticent when the
policy holder did not maintain part of the risk, in such a manner that R&W Insurance
would cover only the excess of the
limits of the indemnity agreements executed by seller. However, in the US it is
currently possible to find policies without such limitations, although the
premiums for these products are, of course, higher.
In the US, R&W Insurance premiums vary, on average, between 3% to 8% of the insured capital (which is proportional to the value of the transaction), which can make it less attractive for smaller transactions due to the high subscription costs, especially related to qualitative analyses carried out by insurers on the due diligence processes carried out by buyers [2].
In Brazil
The products available in Brazil normally cover: (i) the
amounts payable to buyers as penalties or indemnities under the terms
of the Contracts entered into with the sellers due to violation of the R&W;
and (ii) the defense costs relating to suits filed by third parties as a result
of R&W violations.
The following are exclusions and events of loss of
rights typical of these kinds of insurance products:
R&W explicitly
identified by the insurer as not being covered or only partially covered (in
the extension of such non-cover);
all R&W violations, or
facts that could reasonably result in R&W violations, over which the buyer
either had knowledge of or should have had knowledge of, when signing or
closing the transaction, as the case may be, and that were not disclosed to the
insurer before such dates;
fines and penalties of a
criminal nature;
non-compliance by the
insured (buyer) of its obligations, as established in the Contract; and
negligence by the insured (buyer)
in immediately communicating to the insurer any R&W violation or fact that
could reasonably result in a R&W violation or any aggravation in the risk
of a R&W violation.
The first product of this kind was only marketed in Brazil in the 2014 year by AIG Seguros Brasil S.A. With a product solely available for the buyer side and with a capped cover of US$ 25 million (per transaction) [3], it is clear that the R&W Insurance market in this country still lacks the diversity and flexibility of the North American market. Even so, according to Marsh Corretora de Seguros Ltda., R&W Insurance demand in Brazil over the first half of the 2018 year grew by 35%, compared to the same period in 2017 [4].
Conclusion
Beyond the long term trends (Brazil has been seeing a
significant increase in the volume of M&A over the past two decades[5]),
the imminent approval of an agenda of legislative reform and the start of a new
cycle of prosperity in the country are setting the expectation for a rapid
increase in the volume of M&A transactions and, consequently, of contracting
of R&W Insurance.
Bearing in mind that the national market for this kind
of insurance remains unexploited, this favorable economic scenario represents a
unique growth opportunity for insurers. Meanwhile, for those involved in
M&A deals (especially lawyers), the handling of this product will represent
an important competitive edge, to the extent it will undoubtedly add
significant value to the transactions they deal with, as already happens in
more mature markets.
As
operações de compra e venda, incorporação, fusão de empresas, dentre outras,
genericamente denominadas fusões e aquisições (mergers and acquisitions – “M&A”),
abrangem uma variedade de estruturas diferentes que, em regra, importam na
transferência de um complexo de direitos e obrigações entre alienantes e
adquirentes, cujos riscos – apesar dos esforços sinceros das equipes de due diligence – não são inteiramente
conhecidos pelos adquirentes no momento da assinatura dos contratosda operação (“Contratos”).
Em
verdade, dada a natureza incerta das atividades empresariais, é possível que
nem mesmo o vendedor tenha ciência dos fatores e eventos, presentes ou
pretéritos, passíveis de impactar materialmente seu negócio no futuro.
Assim,
a fim de se tornarem mais previsíveis, os Contratos se valem das cláusulas de
declarações e garantias (representantions
and warranties – “R&W”).
Mecanismo hábil à repartição dos riscos inerentes às operações de M&A, por
meio das R&W é possível aloca-los àqueles melhor equipados para suportá-los.
Com efeito, mais do que em outras seções dos Contratos, em meio às R&Ws
pode-se criar ou destruir valor nas operações de M&A.
Na
prática, as cláusulas desse tipo são estruturadas na forma de assertivas sobre
a empresa a ser adquirira (“Target”)
feitas pelo vendedor e funcionam como um conjunto de premissas das condições
econômicas da transação, cuja eventual falsidade franqueia ao comprador acionar
os remédios contratuais preestabelecidos.
Nesse
passo, as medidas/remédios possíveis são tão variados quanto as estruturas de
M&A, dentre as quais, no entanto, destacam-se pela quase onipresença: (i) os
acordos de indenidade firmados nos Contratos, por meio dos quais o vendedor se
obriga a ressarcir o comprador dos prejuízos decorrentes da violação de
determinada R&W; e (ii) a contratação de serviços de administração de conta
vinculada (escrow account), por meio
dos quais parte dos recursos necessários à concretização da operação ficam
indisponíveis às partes e sob a gestão de instituição bancária independente, que
os devolverá ao comprador na medida em que as R&W venham a ser descumpridas,
ou os entregará ao vendedor após o decurso de prazo contratualmente determinado
dede que não haja violação das mesmas.
Seguro de Representantions and Warranties
O
seguro de declarações e garantias (“Seguro
de R&W”) – objeto deste texto – tem por finalidade principal garantir o
cumprimento das R&W, podendo ser contratado tanto pelo comprador (buyer side), quanto pelo vendedor (seller side). Como alternativa aos
remédios acima, o Seguro de R&W apresenta uma série de vantagens:
no pré-closing, reduz o desgaste negocial entre
comprador e vendedor acerca das declarações e garantias, na medida em que os
ônus decorrentes de sua violação serão arcados por seguradora, terceira à
relação;
no pós-closing,
caso o vendedor e o comprador mantenham relações, seja porque a venda não foi
integral, seja porque o vendedor compõe a administração da Target, evita o
desgaste, na medida em que quaisquer violações às R&W serão tratadas com a
seguradora, e não entre as partes;
agiliza o pagamento das indenizações, em grande
medida porque o pagamento das indenizações por meio de seguro tem menor
litigiosidade do que por meio de cobrança direta entre as partes;
viabiliza melhores condições de financiamento
pelo comprador, na medida em que a atividade da Target fica sujeita a menos imprevistos;
assegura que eventuais violações das R&W
sejam indenizadas a despeito da situação financeira do vendedor;
permite que comprador e vendedor se desvinculem
mais rapidamente: seja por meio de acordos de indenidade, ou do estabelecimento
de contas vinculadas, a vendedora, após o closing,
não pode/deve livremente dispor dos recursos decorrentes da venda, o que pode
ser especialmente inconveniente para fundos de investimento com prazo
determinado de duração ou qualquer um que deseje destinar os recursos para
outra finalidade; e
com a tendência de queda dos juros (taxa
básica), a depender do custo de capital do vendedor, a contratação de Seguro de
R&W pode vir a ser financeiramente mais vantajosa (com a consequente
melhora na taxa interna de retorno do investimento) do que a manutenção de
vultuosas quantias em conta vinculada.
Criado
em 1997 nos Estados Unidos, o Seguro de R&W demorou a se difundir, mas, nos
últimos anos, tem se expandido rapidamente. Vinte anos depois, em 2017, dentre
as operações de M&A ocorridas nos Estados Unidos com valor compreendido
entre US$ 25 milhões e US$ 1bilhão, 34% contaram com a contratação de Seguro de
R&W, contra somente 20% em 2016.
Ainda
em 2017, houve contratação de Seguro de R&W em 75% dos M&A’s nos quais
fundos de private equity atuaram como
compradores[1].
Além
da maior penetração no mercado, com o passar do tempo os produtos de Seguros de
R&W têm se tornado mais flexíveis. Em princípio, as seguradoras que
operavam esse tipo de produto eram muito reticentes em segurar as R&W em
operações nas quais o segurado não retivesse parte do risco; as coberturas de
R&W eram feitas somente em excesso aos limites dos compromissos de
indenidade assumidos pelo vendedor. Hoje, nos Estados Unidos, entretanto, já é
possível contratar coberturas desse tipo mediante proporcional majoração no
valor do prêmio a ser pago, é claro.
No mercado
norte-americano, os prêmios dos Seguros de R&W variam, em média, entre 3% a
8% do capital segurado (que é proporcional ao valor da operação), o que pode
torná-lo pouco vantajoso para operações menores devido aos elevados custos de
subscrição, mormente relacionados às analises qualitativas conduzidas pelas
seguradoras com relação aos processos de due
diligence realizados pelos compradores[2].
No Brasil
Os produtos
disponíveis no mercado brasileiro, normalmente, cobrem: (i) os valores a que os
compradores façam jus a título de multa ou indenização, nos termos dos Contratos
firmados com o vendedor, em virtude da violação às R&W; e (ii) os custos de
defesa relacionados a ações ajuizadas por terceiros em decorrência da violação
das R&W.
Em tempo, são
exclusões e hipóteses de perda de direito típicas de produtos de seguro desse
tipo:
as R&W expressamente identificadas pela seguradora
como não cobertas ou como parcialmente cobertas (na extensão de sua não
cobertura);
todas as violações de R&W, ou fatos que possam
razoavelmente resultar em violações de R&W, sobre as quais o comprador
tinha conhecimento ou deveria ter conhecimento no momento do signing ou closing, conforme o caso, e que não tenham sido informadas à
seguradora antes dessas datas;
multas e penalidades de natureza criminal;
descumprimento pelo segurado (comprador) de suas
obrigações, conforme estabelecidas nos Contratos; e
desídia pelo segurado (comprador) em comunicar à
seguradora imediatamente acerca de qualquer violação das R&W ou fato que
razoavelmente possa acarretar uma violação das R&W ou agravamento desse
risco.
O primeiro
produto do tipo somente veio a ser lançado no país em 2014 pela AIG Seguros
Brasil S.A. Sendo comercializado somente na modalidade buyer side e com valor máximo de coberturas de 25 milhões de
dólares (por operação)[3],
o mercado brasileiro de Seguro de R&W ainda não possui a diversidade e
flexibilidade do norte-americano. Apesar disso, segundo a Marsh Corretora de
Seguros Ltda., entre os meses de janeiro a junho de 2018, a demanda pelo Seguro
de R&W no Brasil cresceu 35%, em comparação com o mesmo período de 2017[4].
Conclusão
Para além das
tendências de longo prazo (o Brasil vem experimentando um aumento significativo
no volume de M&As nas últimas duas décadas[5]),
na iminência da aprovação de uma agenda legislativa reformista e do início de
um novo ciclo de prosperidade no país, a expectativa é que haja um rápido
aumento no volume de operações de M&A e, consequentemente, de contratações
de Seguro de R&W.
Em vista do quão
inexplorado é o mercado nacional de seguros desse tipo, essa conjuntura
econômica favorável representa uma oportunidade única de expansão das carteiras
das seguradoras. Já para os operadores de M&A (especialmente os advogados),
o manuseio desse produto representará relevante diferencial competitivo, na
medida em que certamente agregará imenso valor às operações por eles
conduzidas, tal como já ocorre em mercados mais maduros.
TTR DealMaker Q&A with Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados Partner Moacir Zilbovicius
Moacir Zilbovicius
Moacir’s practice focuses on M&A transactions and general corporate matters with emphasis on publicly-held companies. He represents business conglomerates, domestic and foreign, from different economic sectors. Moacir served as the head of the Legal Department of the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM). He worked as a foreign associate in the New York office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Fundação Antonio e Helena Zerrener (co-controlling shareholders of Ambev).
TTR: How would you assess the performance of the M&A market in Brazil in the first quarter of 2019?
The results of the presidential and congress elections last October gave the market a more optimistic scenario for M&A activities in the first quarter of 2019. In my view, although the expectations were not fully met (and in fact there was a decrease in transactions volume and aggregate value this first quarter with respect to 2018), the market was and it is still very active, especially considering the number of ongoing discussions and movements we have seen taking place.
TTR: What are your expectations for the Brazilian M&A market for the remaining of the year? Which scenarios or trends can already be identified?
The expectations for the remaining of the year are mostly positive
– the outlook for M&A transactions will certainly be enhanced by the
approval and implementation of reforms proposed by the new President elected,
especially the pension system reform, which is currently under discussion in
the Congress and is our biggest domestic headwind.
With respect to scenarios or trends that can already be identified, it is possible to say that an important driver for M&A activity in Brazil will be the announced infrastructure agenda, which is one of the main priorities for the Brazilian Government for this and the following years and aims to attract the private sector to fill infrastructure gaps. The main sectors announced to be privatized/awarded to the private sector include airports, ports, energy, railroads and roads, mining, as well as banking and related services.
TTR: The Real Estate sector has been among the most actives in Brazil since last year, and has remained stable in 2019, whereas Technology and Financial and Insurance have dropped 15% and 25%, respectively, on the 1Q19. What do you make of these trends and how do you expect these sectors to perform in the coming months and why?
The real estate
sector followed the lead of Brazil’s economy (and its modest GDP growth in the
prior two years) and experienced a small improvement recently. I believe though
that this is still not the ideal scenario for the sector considering all of its
potential and opportunities. It is common knowledge that the cost of credit in
Brazil is expensive but in my opinion the real estate sector (and this is true
for virtually all others) will benefit from the implementation of the proposed
reforms and when that occur I have great expectations for the sector given the
prospect of the combination of attractive real property prices, less expensive
credit and banks willing to approve financing. Furthermore, key strategic real
estate players already established in Brazil as well as private equity firms
are expected to keep investing in infrastructure projects that, in general,
will also demand real estate investments.
Also driven by the implementation of the pension reform and the consequent strengthening of Brazil’s fundamentals, Technology and Financial and Insurance (and I would also add Retail to the list) sectors are expected to increase their activities, as the M&A market in general.
TTR: Which transactions would you highlight in terms of importance and complexity this year, whether you have acted directly or with the participation of Mattos Filho?
Fortunately, our M&A practice remain busy and growing. For this year’s transactions, we would highlight the sale of Nextel Brasil’s equity interest to América Móvil (Claro). Mattos Filho (together with Jones Day) assisted NII Holdings with the structuring and implementation of the transaction, as well as advice on tax and regulatory matters (CADE and Anatel). From Claro’s perspective, the closing of this transaction will increase its market share, mainly in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which will certainly add some complexity for the deal to be approved by regulatory agencies in Brazil (CADE and Anatel). This deal is true a cross-border transaction and will result in the departure of the former giant telecom titan NII from Brazil, which is ending its global activities. Nextel Brazil was NII’s last operational subsidiary, being a complex and high-profile target.
We also advised Raia Drogasil S.A., Brazil’s largest pharmacy retail chain, in connection with the acquisition of 100% of the capital stock of Drogaria Onofre Ltda., one of the most recognized companies in the Brazilian retail pharmacy segment and a national leader in e-commerce, owned by subsidiaries of CVS Health Corporation.
Finally, I should also mention that we have been actively involved in most of the auctions for the concession projects that took place this year. In that regard, we advised Raízen, part of “Nordeste Consortium”, which has won the auction held by the Brazilian Federal Government for the Port Terminal AI-01, located in the Port of Cabedelo, in the state of Paraíba. We also advised two of the bidders for the Northeast Block (Recife (PE), Maceió (AL), Aracaju (SE), Juazeiro do Norte (CE), João Pessoa (PB), and Campina Grande (PB)) at the airports auction carried out by the Brazilian government, and one of the bidders for the auction of railroad “Trecho ferroviário Porto Nacional/TO a Estrela D’Oeste/SP”, which Rumo has won.
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TTR DealMaker Q&A with TozziniFreire Partner Francisco Eumene Machado de Oliveira Neto
TozziniFreire Partner Francisco Eumene Machado de Oliveira Neto advises companies and investors, both domestic and foreign, having broad experience with publicly-held organizations and financial institutions. His practice is focused on corporate, civil and commercial legal matters, such as banking and capital markets transactions, private equity deals, purchase and sale of companies and corporate restructuring.
Francisco Eumene Machado de Oliveira Neto
TTR: Though Private Equity deals took center stage in Brazil in 2018, outpacing aggregate value and deal volume of the previous four years, 2019 has not been great so far for PE investment, falling behind activity for corresponding periods in 2017 and 2018. What market conditions explain this scenario? What can we expect for the remainder of 2019?
After many years
governed by the same political party, a new president – from an opposing party
– was elected. After the initial excitement, the market is waiting to see the
ability and power of the new president to implement the changes the country
needs. The lack of visibility on the outcome of the main reforms is probably
helping the market to hold off new investments and reducing the number of
deals. Depending on the political developments, we can expect equity, debt and
private equity deals to increase substantially for the remaining of the year.
TTR: What’s your
outlook for the Brazilian Capital Market in 2019?
The outlook for 2019 is
positive. Despite the cautiousness of the market at this point, the approval of
the social security reform and the implementation of privatizations and sale of
certain governmental assets in the following months will likely boost the
capital market this year and for the years to come.
TTR: Technology and
Financial sectors led M&A transactions in Brazil in 2018 and are already at
the forefront in 2019. What do you make of these trends and how do you expect
these two sectors to perform in the coming months and why?
Technology sector has
led and will lead the number of M&A transactions for the near future.
Traditional companies are continuously investing in new technologies and
adapting its business model to this new reality and new ones are already being
created heavily supported by technology, which makes an excellent scenario for
M&A transactions.
The financial sector
has seen some large transactions in the past years and smaller ones mostly
related to fintechs. The fintechs are opening the market to a
larger number of investors by creating a new environment for doing business.
The Brazilian Central Bank also took part and enacted a new law to regulate
some of these new companies. It is expected that many of these fintechs will continue their growth by
raising more capital, developing new products and acquiring smaller ones. The
large banks are also very close to these developments and are likely to play an
important role on this market.
TTR: Santander Brasil recently completed the acquisition of card processor Getnet after buying the 11.5% stake in the company it didn’t already own for BRL 1.4 bn. What does this deal tell us about the Brazilian financial market and the level of competition in the card processing segment?
Santander’s acquisition
consolidated the full control over Getnet. It was part of a process initiated
in 2014. The card processing segment has shown its importance and the
competition is fierce. More recently, companies not related to financial
institutions have entered the market with successful equity offerings carried
out outside of Brazil.
TTR: What were the main
challenges you faced advising on this transaction?
Even though the exit of
the former controlling shareholders was established since Santander’s first
acquisition, the confidentiality of the transaction was crucial during the
negotiations of the remaining pending issues.
Segundo Amir Bocayuva Cunha, a performance do mercado brasileiro de M&A em 2018 está acima das expectativas e as questões mais relevantes para o setor “não estão nem tanto relacionadas com as incertezas ou a instabilidade político-econômica e sim com as consequências da operação Lava-Jato e suas derivadas em termos de compliance, anti-corrupção e lavagem de dinheiro”. Leia a entrevista completa abaixo:
O mercado brasileiro tem sido muito pautado por temas como instabilidade e incertezas políticas, o que trouxe uma série de consequências para as empresas nacionais. Em termos de assessoria em transações de M&A, quais foram os maiores entraves que essas incertezas provocaram, para além do ritmo de espera?
ABC: Considerando se tratar de um ano de eleições, o que adiciona incerteza a um mercado que já vem sofrendo com a crise política e econômica, a meu ver, até o terceiro trimestre de 2018, o mercado de M&A brasileiro, ficou acima das expectativas considerando-se. Portanto, eu diria que a performance do mercado foi bastante razoável até o fim do terceiro trimestre, e assim deve permanecer até o final do ano.
A meu ver, as principais questão no mercado de M&A em 2018 não estão nem tanto relacionadas com as incertezas ou a instabilidade político-econômica e sim com as consequências da operação Lava-Jato e suas derivadas em termos de compliance, anti-corrupção e lavagem de dinheiro. Tais fatores, embora já existissem no passado, continuam desempenhando um papel relevante nas mesas de negociação de operações de M&A. Essa questão se torna ainda mais relevante quando a operação envolve alguma empresa que, de alguma forma, tenha sido envolvida na Lava-Jato e tenha firmado um acordo de leniência. O risco de descumprimento do acordo de leniência e as consequências daí decorrentes são fatores que tem adicionado complexidade às transações.
O BMA participou de uma série de operações de Private Equity em 2018, incluindo operações de destaque como a venda da operação brasileira do Walmart para a Advent International. Entretanto, o ano tem sido de queda nos números de operações e também no total aportado no país. Qual a sua avaliação da performance do ano e suas espectativas para 2019 nos investimentos de PE?
ABC: Em relação às operações envolvendo fundos de Private Equity, nossa sensação é que, de fato, houve uma queda em termos de número de transações. Participamos de algumas operações, mas se olharmos numa perspectiva dos últimos cinco anos, percebemos que houve de fato uma redução, o que nos parece absolutamente normal e dentro da expectativa, tendo em vista que os fundos de Private Equity investem já vislumbrando as estratégias de saída. Em algumas conversas com fundos de PE, notamos que muitos estavam aguardando uma definição do cenário eleitoral para poder colocar em prática os seus planos de investimento.
Quais transações destacaria em termos de importância e complexidade esse ano, sejam as que tenham atuado diretamente ou que contaram com a participação do BMA?
ABC: As operações que mais se destacam em termos de importância e complexidade são: a conclusão da aquisição da XP Investimentos pelo Itaú, em que, pela primeira vez, vimos o Banco Central exercer uma função de controle concorrencial de uma maneira jamais vista antes. Essa operação foi uma mudança de paradigma no comportamento do Banco Central quanto à análise dos efeitos concorrenciais de operações envolvendo instituições financeiras. E, durante as negociações que tivemos com o Banco Central para a aprovação da operação, que, inclusive, exigiu modificações relevantes da operação inicialmente contratada, o Banco Central indicou que , a partir de agora, esse seria um novo padrão de conduta para operações futuras. Destaco também a operação da Embraer com a Boeing, que é uma operação bastante complexa e relevante e que acabou sendo afetada pelo cenário político, mas que agora, com a eleição definida, esperamos que tenha condições de ser concluída num futuro breve. Por fim, vale destacar a operação, que envolveu a maior disputa pelo controle de uma companhia aberta que vimos no mercado de capitais brasileiro, envolvendo a Eletropaulo, em que a Enel foi a vencedora. Além da disputa entre diferentes interessados, a operação resultou num incremento significativo do valor das ações da companhia, gerando enorme valor para seus acionistas.
Com o fim do ano se aproximando, quais setores possuem, na sua opinião, maior potencial de crescimento até o fim do ano e em 2019?
ABC: Com a definição do cenário eleitoral, entendo que os setores que apresentam potencial de crescimento para 2019 e para os próximos anos, serão os setores de Infraestrutura, tal como saneamento básico, rodovias, portos, dentre outros. Acreditamos que deverá haver uma nova onda de privatizações, concessões, PPPs fomentada pela vertente liberal anunciada pelo próximo governo, o que deve movimentar bastante o mercado. Vislumbro também um aumento da atividade no setor de energia e óleo e gás. As rodadas de leilões realizada pela ANP esse ano deverá produzir resultados em toda a cadeia produtiva que atende a esse setor.
