Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. has agreed to acquire the Chilean equity brokerage firm, Ureta y Bianchi Corredores de Bolsa S.A, as part of a larger plan to build a broad, wholly owned Global Markets and Investment Banking (GMI) platform in Chile.
“The acquisition of Ureta y Bianchi is consistent with our long-term strategy of pursuing a broad Latin American business platform that spans multiple countries, asset classes, industry sectors and clients,” says James Quigley, president of Latin America and Canada at Merrill Lynch. “We view the Santiago presence as a necessary addition to the portfolio of capabilities we have developed in major Latin American countries in the past few years. Having a GMI operation in Chile will help us service local, regional and international institutional investors and corporate clients seeking opportunities across the major economies and capital markets in the region.”
The brokerage will be renamed to incorporate the Merrill Lynch brand name. Francisco Ossa, one of Ureta y Bianchi’s partners, will head Merrill Lynch Chile’s local equity business and will be joined by the other Ureta y Bianchi partners, Manuel Jos Ureta, Alfredo Ureta and Ignacio Perez. Hans Trautmann, Merrill Lynch’s senior fixed income banker based in Santiago, will oversee the development of FICC business in the country.
Daniel Gonzalez will continue as the head of the Southern Cone countries, overseeing Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.