BUSINESS EVOLUTION AND ACQUISITION OF FAZENDAS DO CAMBUHY

YEARS LEADING UP TO THE 1950s

A few years later, the banking section within Casa Moreira Salles separated from the store, officially becoming Casa Bancária Moreira Salles, then Banco Moreira Salles. During this period, João Moreira Salles began to rely on his son, Walther Moreira Salles, to work in the family business. An important point in the business development occurred in 1927 when João, in a significant change in the company’s ownership structure, joined João Afonso Junqueira – a member of the oldest family in Poços de Caldas, which owned the land where the famous medicinal waters of the region were discovered. João Afonso remained a partner until 1933 when he then transferred his share to Walther Moreira Salles. After that, the company had only father and son as partners, and the strong understanding between the two was an essential element in its prosperity.
At the age of 21, Walther understood that the most dynamic part of the business was precisely the banking house, a financial institution that was becoming increasingly solid in the local context. The business gained significant momentum through partnerships with public authorities, particularly during Francisco de Paula Figueiredo’s terms in office between 1931 and 1939. Under Walther’s leadership, the Moreira Salles group expanded its activities beyond the financial sector and the borders of Brazil, diversifying into various activities through associations with international companies and conglomerates.
In the 1950s, through an operation conducted on the London Stock Exchange, the Moreira Salles group acquired Brazilian Warrant, along with Fazendas do Cambuhy and E. Johnston, as well as all the other companies that belonged to the English group. At that time, Fazendas do Cambuhy had 22,926.1 alqueires (approximately 55,279 hectares), seven million coffee trees, and played a crucial role in the history of Banco Moreira Salles, when San Tiago Dantas, then an executive of the group, made a bold decision to subdivide it to capitalize the bank. As a result of this capitalization process, Cambuhy’s area was reduced to 5,811.2 alqueires (14,063 hectares), and since then, it has followed a policy that balances production and conservation, protecting and restoring fragments of flora and permanent preservation areas (PPAs). 4,660 hectares of Cambuhy consist of native forests and PPAs, which have been maintained to this day. Thus, Cambuhy Agrícola’s forested areas represent the largest remaining forest on privately-owned land in the region.