Inácio de Barros Melo Neto, 44 years old, is the new significant shareholder of Americanas, owning 12.5% of the retailer's shares after investing R$10 million ($ 1.8 million) this month. The company has been in judicial recovery since January 2023, after a R$25.3 billion accounting fraud came to light.

A significant shareholder is one who exceeds 5% participation in a company's share capital and therefore ceases to be a minority. Whenever this happens, the company needs to announce the increase in participation to the market. This happened on Friday (12th) when Americanas issued a statement informing that Melo Neto had reached the amount of 113 million ordinary shares, equivalent to 12.52% of the company.

A lawyer and member of a traditional family from Olinda (Pernambuco), he leads educational institutions: he is the director of the Olinda Medical School and the Ecolar School. He says he follows the restructuring process of Americanas and believes the company will recover.

Read the article in the original language