BTG Pactual, the largest Brazilian independent securities firm, agreed to buy a controlling stake in commercial real estate developer WTorre Properties in a deal valued at around 1.8 billion reais ($1.1 billion), Valor Economico newspaper reported on Wednesday. Valor said that, under terms of the transaction, BTG could acquire more than 50 percent of the unit, which will be spun off from holding company WTorre. The newspaper did not specify how it obtained the information. The reported transaction highlights BTG Pactual's growing bet on commercial real estate in Brazil, where global investors such as Sam Zell's Equity International and real estate investment trust Hines have pocketed sizzling gains through the sale and development of warehouses, office compounds and shopping malls.
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