Brazil’s Unico completes first acquisition after US$111 million capital investment

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Unico has just begun its season of mergers and acquisitions. The Brazilian technology company, founded in 2007 and known until last year by the brand Acesso Digital, announced on Monday, May 31, the purchase of startup ViaNuvem, specializing in tools that allow dealers to sell cars online. The transaction value has not been disclosed by the companies.

With over 400 clients, among them banks such as Itaú, Santander and Bradesco, Unico offers services ranging from digital signature of labor contracts to validating the identity of telemedicine patients. The company invoiced around R$150 (US$28.7) million in 2020 – double that of 2019 – and more than tripled in size, growing from 180 employees to 550 in May 2021.

The acquisition is the first the company has announced after receiving a R$580 million capital injection led by SoftBank and General Atlantic funds in September last year. At the time, founder and president Diego Martins had signaled that he could use part of the capital received to finance an acquisition strategy.

Guilherme Cervieri, Unico’s vice-president of mergers and acquisitions, confirmed that the acquisition of ViaNuvem is only the beginning of its strategy. His team is currently analyzing at least 30 companies and, in the coming months it should announce at least 2 or 3 new transactions.

According to the executive, Unico has 4 main goals with acquisitions: entering new markets or new geographies, acquiring specialized technology talent, bringing new products to the platform, or capturing a competitor’s customer base.

In the case of ViaNuvem, the purchase of 100% of the company marks its entry into the automotive market. Founded in 2017 by partners Heitor Orletti and Fredy Evangelista, the startup controls 60% of new car transactions in Brazil with its tool that enables customers to submit their documents online.

Last year, with the pandemic driving remote purchases, the company added 800 new customers. Today, 2,500 dealerships in Brazil use its services, handling R$20 billion in monthly transactions.

Source: Exame