There were a total of 66 mergers and acquisitions in Brazil, in July, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. In the first seven months of the year, the number of transactions was 321, with a reduction of 21% over the same period in 2008, when 407 deals were closed.
But the volume of transactions in July, according to consultancy company, shows a growing tendency. "The perspective is for it to be possible to reach the same level as that of 2008 by the end of the year," forecasted PwC partner Alexandre Pierantoni.
Between January and July, the Brazilian capital participated in 157 transactions or 59% of the purchase deals. In the same months of last year, there were 242 transactions. The participation of foreign investors was 41%, in 107 transactions. Mergers and joint ventures represented 12% of the deals.
The most prominent sectors, in July, were information and food technology, which together represented 19% of the total. Then came the financial area, with 9%, services, with 7%, mining, chemical and petrochemical, with 6% each, retail, building and transportation, with 5% each.
This information was disclosed by a spokesperson for PricewaterhouseCoopers, which supplies auditing, tax and partnership advisory and business management services. The consultancy operates in 149 countries.
Trade Surplus
The Brazilian trade surplus was US$ 415 million, in the third week of August, resulting from US$ 3.135 billion in exports and US$ 2.720 billion in imports. The figures were disclosed by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
The weekly result is the lowest this month. In the first week of August, the trade surplus was US$ 935 million and in the second week, it was US$ 680 million. So far this month, the trade surplus was US$ 2.030 billion, the result of US$ 9.601 billion in exports and US$ 7.571 billion in imports.
From January until the third week of August, the trade surplus was US$ 18.943 billion, a figure 13.1% higher than recorded in the same period of 2008 (US$ 16.749 billion). During the period, exports totaled US$ 93.696 billion and imports, US$ 74.753 billion.
