The Switzerland-based private banking group will assume a majority in GPS’s board of directors and will appoint two members to the company’s executive committee.
GPS will continue to operate under its original brand name.
Julius Baer purchased a 30% stake in GPS in May 2011 and said a further 50% acquisition highlights its strategic goal of building a "leading wealth management business in Brazil".
A statement from the company calls Brazil “one of the most attractive domestic wealth management markets worldwide”.
The group predicts that the transaction will deliver a low single-digit accretion to its adjusted earnings per share in 2014.
GPS is the largest independent wealth manager in Brazil and has approximately BRL15bn of assets under management.
On the acquisition, Boris F.J Collardi, chief executive at Julius Baer, said: “Our majority participation enables us to gain long-term access to one of the most attractive and promising domestic wealth management markets worldwide, and represents another key step in the execution of Julius Baer’s focused growth strategy.”
Founding partner of GPS Jose Eduardo Martins said: “This will create the opportunity for us to provide advisory services based on the combined expertise of both companies.
“Julius Baer guarantees perpetuity and sustainability for our ambitious future growth plans.”
Julius Baer is a leading Swiss private banking group with total client assets amounting to CHF348bn (€278.5bn, $382bn, £233bn) at the end of 2013.
In December last year the group completed the transfer of Merrill Lynch’s international wealth management businesses based in Lebanon, Bahrain and the UAE, giving the bank new footholds in Beirut and Manama as well as strengthening its presence in Dubai.
Rémy A Bersier, a member of the executive board of Julius Baer and head Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, said at the time that gaining new footholds in the Middle Eastern markets represented “an important step” for the bank.
He added: “It will enable us to further expand our footprint in this key growth region.”
The transfer formed part of a two-year business transfer of Merrill Lynch’s entire non-US and non-Japan IWM business portfolio, which Julius Baer acquired in principle in August 2012.
