SAO PAULO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Banco Bradesco SA,Brazil's No. 2 private-sector bank, has agreed to pay 17.6billion reais ($5.2 billion) for HSBC Holdings Plc's Brazilian unit, magazine Veja's Radar blog reported late onSunday.
The transaction was informed to central bank officials lateon Sunday, and Bradesco plans to make public the acquisition ofHSBC Bank Brasil SA Banco Múltiplo, as the unit is formallyknown, early on Monday, the blog said, without saying how itobtained the information.
A press representative at HSBC in São Paulo declined tocomment. Efforts to contact Bradesco's press officials wereunsuccessful.
Reuters reported last month, citing a source with directknowledge of the transaction, that Bradesco had enteredexclusive talks to buy HSBC Brasil. The same source said at thetime that HSBC was expected to have the sale finalized by earlyAugust. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and AluÃÂsio Alves; Editingby Gopakumar Warrier)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)