Lojas Americanas buys the owner of the Imaginarium and Puket

Sao Paulo – Lojas Americanas (Lame 4It announced, Tuesday (20), the purchase of a 70% stake in Grupo Uni.co, which owns the Puket, Imaginarium, MinD and Lovebrands brands. The acquisition took place through subsidiary IF Capital and allows the purchase of the remaining 30% stake in the company within three years. The transaction value was not disclosed.

Through the acquisition, Lojas Americanas’ goal is to increase its presence in sectors with high repeat buying operations, such as fashion, accessories, gifts and design.

Uni.co Group operates in physical and virtual retail with a comprehensive channel strategy that integrates physical and digital channels. There are currently 440 trademark franchises that specialize in Fun designWhich includes creative décor items and clothing.

The last few weeks have been busy in the retail sector. Day Seven, CIA Hering (HGTX3) The market informed that it had rejected the Arrizo offer (ARZZ3) To merge operations between the two companies.

A few days later, Lugas Rayner (LREN3On Monday (19), it confirmed the realization of an offer to buy shares to raise 6.5 billion Brazilian reals to buy a company in the retail sector. On Friday (16), when the first rumors appeared, C&A shares (CEAB3), Marisa Logas (AMAR3(H. Herring)HGTX3)And the She stepped up when viewed as the main candidates. But this Tuesday (20), Another player emerged as a prime target: Dafiti Fashion E-commerce.

Analysts say the recent consolidation movement in the retail sector is the result of the second wave of the epidemic, which brought new restrictions and once again affected consumption in the country, especially from non-essential items.

Larger companies with better financial health are taking the time to buy smaller companies at a reduced price, with many of them facing difficulties due to the effects of the crisis resulting from Covid-19. In many cases, the only way to not close the doors is to merge with another company.

In a report published previously InfoMoney, Gilberto Nagai, Head of Variable Income at BNP Paribas Asset Management, stated that publicly traded Brazilian companies, in general, are being capitalized, given the recovery of the global economy and the injection of government stimulus, which have delivered good results, especially at the end of 2020. “These companies are not just suffering. Less than GDP, but sees an opportunity for consolidation. As is always the case in these crises, there is a big difference between the companies listed on the stock exchange, which are more compact, and the economy in general. “

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