PBR Petroleo Brasileiro ADR

    By Rogerio Jelmayer 

SAO PAULO--Troubled Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual SA sold a portion of its holding in real-estate investment firm BR Properties SA as the lender aimed to raise cash and improve its liquidity.

The bank said it sold, though an auction at the local exchange, a stake equivalent to 463 million reais ($119 million). The company didn't provide further details about the portion sold or the name of the buyer.

Before the transaction, BTG had held 35.9%, or 107 million shares, of BR Properties, according to the company's website.

The sale comes as BTG attempts to raise cash following the recent arrest of Andre Esteves, its former chairman and chief executive, as part of Brazil's largest-ever corruption investigation. Mr. Esteves remains jailed in Rio de Janeiro.

Mr. Esteves, the founder and public face of rapidly growing BTG, Brazil's sixth-largest bank in terms of assets, was arrested Nov. 25 on allegations that he and a Brazilian senator had tried to interfere with a criminal investigation.

Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Esteves and Sen. Delcidio do Amaral with obstructing justice. Brazilian authorities alleged Mr. Esteves and the senator attempted to buy the silence of a key witness involved in the corruption investigation of oil major Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), or Petrobras.

Both men have denied wrongdoing through their lawyers.

Days after Mr. Esteves's arrest, BTG announced the sale of a stake in local hospital operator Rede D'Or Sao Luiz for 2.4 billon reais to Singapore's sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd. It has also been selling loan portfolios to local banks.

BTG has confirmed it is considering the sale of several other assets, including BSI, the Swiss bank it acquired from Italy's Assicurazioni Generali SpA (G.MI) for 1.25 billion Swiss francs ($1.27 billion) last year, as well as debt-collection firm Recovery and retailer Leader Participacoes SA.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at rogerio.jelmayer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 15, 2015 04:53 ET (09:53 GMT)

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