Itau, Bradesco, Santander Bid on HSBC's Brazil Unit

SAO PAULO—Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA and Banco Santander Brasil SA have bid to buy the Brazilian unit of HSBC Holdings PLC, according to four people close to the talks.

Itau and Bradesco are Brazilian banks, and Santander is the Brazilian unit of Spanish lender Banco Santander SA. The banks' press departments declined to comment for this report.

The sale process is in an early stage and more bids could be made in the next few weeks, two of the people said. The final sale could take place as early as August, they added.

HSBC's Brazilian unit is worth between 10 billion reais and 14 billion reais ($3.12 billion to $4.37 billion), according to Tito Labarta, a banking analyst at Deutsche Bank.

HSBC Holdings said in May that it is exploring various strategic options for its operations in the South American country, including a potential sale of the unit. The Hong Kong- and London-listed bank, however, didn't give further details in a statement.

HSBC has hired Goldman Sachs to gauge the interest of local prospective buyers, according to those people.

The head of Santander Brasil said at the end of May that his bank would study the possible acquisition of HSBC's Brazilian unit.

HSBC's unit is the seventh-largest bank in Brazil, with a 2.7% market share, in terms of assets and employs 21,000 people, according to the Brazilian central bank. HSBC Brazil reported a loss of around £ 200 million ($306.8 million) in 2014.

HSBC's Latin America division, which also includes Mexico and Argentina, had a difficult 2014, with adjusted profit before tax dropping 50% as the Brazilian economy slowed. Meanwhile, costs rose in the region, impacted by union-agreed salary increases and inflation.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at [e-mail] and Luciana Magalhaes at [e-mail]

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