Reports emerged Friday that an investor consortium from Singapore is currently in talks with Brazilian billionaire, Andre Esteves, for the acquisition of a 15% stake in Esteve’s Banco BTG Pactual SA. The reports were first carried by Bloomberg News, citing sources privy to the talks as having relayed the information. Banco BTG Pactual SA is Brazil’s largest equity underwriter and sources said it expects to seal the deal in a month’s time.

The Singapore consortium of investors is led by the Singapore state owned Government Investment Corporation Pte Ltd that as well expects the deal to sum in one month’s time, said the source. According to Bloomberg News, the source further revealed that the talks for the deal are not public but did not disclose the value of the transaction. However, BTG said it does not expect the sale to alter its plans for an initial public offering.

Esteves and his partners bought back the bank from UBS AG for an estimated $2.5 billion in 2009. BTG would not comment on the reports, neither would the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. However, the reports further indicated that Banco BTG Pactual might be undertaking the stake sale in order to fund its own expansion. BTG has invested in partnerships and acquisitions in sectors that have benefited the most from Brazil’s strong consumer demand, which helped fuel growth of 1.2% in the second quarter from the previous period and an 8.8% jump from the previous year.

The Singaporean sovereign fund, Government Investment Corporation, was earlier thought to be in talks for the acquisition of a 16% stake in BTG for about US$2.4 billion, according to reports that emerged earlier. Banco Pactual S.A. together with its subsidiaries provides various commercial banking and other financial services in Brazil. The company’s service portfolio includes proprietary trading, investments, asset management, corporate finance, capital markets, private banking, and sales and trading.

It operates in the fixed income, equity, and interest and exchange rates markets, as well as in stock markets and sovereign foreign debt markets. The company offers various investment services, including identifying, structuring, monitoring, and making investments in different industries and companies.

BTG offers asset management services to institutional clients, high income individuals, companies, and distribution partnerships, as well as corporate finance services, including advisory services to Brazilian and international companies with respect to mergers and acquisitions, and corporate or financial restructuring.

5 Sep 2010.