Brazil's state-owned lender Elo to list asset management unit

SAO PAULO Reuters - State-owned lender Elo is planning to list its asset management unit and the payments firm Caixa Economica Federal by the beginning of 2022, Chief Executive Pedro Guimaraes said in an interview.

Both flotations are part of government's plans to list some of Caixa's business units and raise fresh funds to its coffers through a partial sale.

Reuters reported in April that Caixa had selected six banks to manage Elo's initial public offering on the Nasdaq, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Co.

Elo runs a payment network launched a decade ago to compete with Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc. Besides Caixa, Banco do Brasil SA and Banco Bradesco SA are also shareholders in the company and plan to sell a stake in it.

Despite current unfavorable market conditions, Elo's IPO is a good deal to offer investors as this is a high-growth company, Guimaraes said.

The investment unit Caixa Asset has 500 million reais $88.65 million under management. Caixa said Guimaraes plans to sell a stake of up to 15% in the asset manager.