In an announcement on the Sao Paolo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), US based asset management firm Manulife Asset Management (MAM) said it has acquired a 5% stake in Brazilian logistics business LLX Logística. LLX Logistica is controlled by Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista. Under the purchase agreement, Manulife bought 34.8 million shares of LLX.

Manulife manages funds from a variety of assets including equities and fixed-income investments, as well as real estate, forestry and agriculture. The company is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial, which had over US$174 billion in its portfolio as of September 2010.

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of clients in 22 countries and territories worldwide. The firm’s international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services.

These products and services include individual life insurance, group life and health insurance, long-term care services, pension products, annuities, mutual funds and banking products. Manulife provides asset management services to institutional customers worldwide and offers reinsurance solutions, specializing in life and property and casualty retrocession.

The Company operates in Canada and Asia through the brand name “Manulife Financial” and in the United States primarily through the brand name “John Hancock“.

Established in 2007, LLX is the port terminals logistics company of the EBX Group. LLX was established to address the rapid growth of the Brazilian economy and the country’s need for greater access to global markets via the world’s major shipping routes. Since the company’s inception, it has built two large capacity, mixed use port terminals that are strategically located in the Southeast of Brazil, an area that represents approximately 75% of Brazilian GDP. These terminals are among the most modern port terminals anywhere in the world.

LLX runs the Açu Superport, located in São João da Barra, and the Sudeste Port, in Itaguaí, both in Rio de Janeiro. The firm partners with strategic partners in the development and financing of its port terminals. Such partners include Anglo American, one of the world’s largest mining companies, and OTPP, one of the largest pension funds in Canada.

LLX is listed on the Novo Mercado (“New Market”) of the São Paulo Stock Exchange. Eike Batista embarked on an acquisition and partnerships strategy last year, aimed at enhancing LLX’s position in Brazil and internationally. The firm has operations in the Brazilian oil and gas industry as well, for which it partners with a number of firms.