JPMorgan buys majority in Gavea hedge fund

Date: Thursday, October 28, 2010
Author: Douwe Miedema, Reuters

JPMorgan acquired a majority interest in Brazil hedge fund Gavea Investimentos, an internal memo said, allowing the U.S. investment bank's clients access to the rapidly growing Brazilian economy.

The acquisition was together with Highbridge, which manages hedge fund investments for JPMorgan, said the memo, which was obtained by Reuters.

JPMorgan declined to comment on the purchase, which is expected to be announced later on Wednesday.

The memo was sent to employees late on Tuesday by asset management Chief Executive Mary Erdoes. It said Gavea manages about $6 billion in assets, but did not disclose a price for the acquisition.

Gavea was founded in 2003 by Arminio Fraga, shortly after he left his job as president of the central bank. Fraga is also a member of JPMorgan's international board.

Brasil's Veja magazine first reported the deal in its online edition on Monday, followed by the Financial Times on Tuesday, which said JPMorgan would hold 55 percent of Gavea.