By David French and Tatiana Bautzer
NEW YORK/SAO PAULO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Vinci Partners Investment Ltd VINP.O will use proceeds from its $250 million U.S. initial public offering to expand in its home Brazilian market, an executive at the alternative asset manager said on Thursday.
The Rio de Janeiro-based firm intends to acquire rivals to expand its product suite, including in real estate, equities, and some credit strategies, Head of Private Equity Bruno Zaremba said in an interview.
The company sold 13.9 million shares at $18 each in its IPO on Wednesday, valuing Vinci, which offers investments in private equity, real estate and other fund classes, at $1 billion. The stock was down 3.3% on its first day of trading on Nasdaq.
Brazil's financial services landscape, long dominated by traditional banks, has been redrawn in the last decade by new firms emerging and offering Brazilians easier access to services and products.
Zaremba said growth opportunities in the country are enormous, with record-low interest rates and the hunt for yield accelerating the ongoing shift of Brazilians away from government bonds.
"In the past few years, we have seen the beginnings of a transformation change in how Brazilians save, both retail and institutions," Zaremba said, noting Vinci's assets under management have grown to nearly 50 billion reais ($9.23 billion) from 20 billion reais three years ago.
Being a listed company supports Vinci's growth ambitions as it can buy other platforms with its stock, he added.
Vinci, whose offering was 16-times oversubscribed, joins the steady stream of Brazilian financial firms listing on U.S. markets. Earlier this month, fellow alternatives manager Patria Investments Ltd PAX.O raised $326 million from its IPO, while digital brokerage XP Inc XP.O listed at the end of 2019. said the U.S. listing gave it access to global investors who understood the alternatives model and were already owners of international peers including Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Group BX.N .
"We do not have listed alternative asset managers in Brazil, so the comparables are in the U.S. market." ($1 = 5.4162 reais)