Who is Fictor Group, which made an offer to acquire Banco Master

Still, the news that Fictor intends to buy Banco Master, which is in financial difficulties, took high-ranking banking executives by surprise. The reason is that the group is very little known, even within the financial market. Fictor presents itself on its website as a group specializing in participation and management of companies “focused on the most promising sectors of the economy,” mentioning the food, financial services, and infrastructure sectors. The Fictor group sponsors Palmeiras.
According to information available at the Commercial Registry of the State of São Paulo (Jucesp), Fictor Holding has a social capital of R$ 4.2 million – well below the R$ 3 billion that the group intends to pay for Master. The headquarters are in São Paulo, and the sole partner is Rafael Ribeiro Leite de Gois.
FictorPay, a company within the Fictor group that operates in payments, was recently in the spotlight. The company was hit by a hacker attack on the financial sector infrastructure, targeting the software company Diletta Solutions, resulting in the diversion of about R$ 40 million from customers. It is controlled by the holding and by Gois and has a capital of R$ 2.79 million.
At the end of last year, the group’s food sector – Fictor Alimentos – went public after acquiring control of Atompar, in a operation known as a “reverse IPO.” In this type of transaction, a private company buys a publicly traded one and becomes listed by taking this shortcut. Atompar was engaged in training traders and belonged to Carol Paiffer, Joaquim Paiffer, and Exame magazine, who exited the business.
One of the directors of Fictor Alimentos, André Vasconcelos, is among the names mentioned by members of Congress to take on a directorship at the CVM. Valor has learned that he has been seeking support in Brasília to assume one of the positions amidst mounting pressure from the Centrão to place directors and even the presidency of the regulatory agency.
Another branch of the group, FictorAsset, is responsible for managing nine funds registered with the CVM, all geared towards qualified or institutional investors. Combined, the net worth of the funds is at least R$ 240 million.
The group also has other companies in its portfolio, such as Fictor Energia, Fictor Real Estate, Dr. Foods, Fredini Alimentos, and Vensa Alimentos. The holding also operates with Fictor Agro (commodities trading) and Fictor Consig (payroll loans).
Fictor was founded by Gois in 2007. On the company’s website, he mentions starting his career in the financial market at 16 in a family credit management business. He studied Administration, worked in a metal packaging company, and at Schincariol/Brasil Kirin.