BdB Sets Seguridade Meeting

Banco do Brasil’s shareholders will meet February 20 to approve the IPO plan for the BB Seguridade insurance unit, the bank says. The state-controlled lender has not commented on the size of the transaction, though the market is expecting as much as BRL5bn ($2.51bn), perhaps during the June-July issuance window. The deal is to include both primary and secondary shares, and the bookrunners include Banco do Brasil, BTG Pactual, Bradesco, Brasil Plural, Citi, Itau, and JPMorgan, according to people following the process. The state-controlled bank is seeking to consolidate its insurance businesses into a single company, BB Seguridade, to lower costs, increase scale and be better prepared for possible expansion. BB Seguridade would control Banco do Brasil’s two insurance joint ventures with Madrid-based Mapfre, and the bank plans to also expand into dental and health insurance brokerages. The listed company would directly control two holdcos, one responsible for insurance brokerage activities and the other for all other insurance operations.