(peHUB) June 28, 2011 – BTG Pactual, Brazil’s largest independent securities firm, has closed on $1.6 billion for private equity investments, Reuters reported, citing news from Valor Economico. The BTG Pactual Brazil I fund inked about $500 million from the firm’s capital and $200 million from employees and partners, the newspaper said. The fund is the third largest ever raised in Latin America, Reuters wrote.

(via Reuters) BTG Pactual [BTG.UL], Brazil’s biggest independent securities firm, raised $1.6 billion for a private equity fund as it steps up efforts to invest in non-financial sectors, Valor Economico reported on Tuesday.

BTG Pactual did not use a placement agent, opting instead for individual investor contacts, Valor said, citing Carlos Fonseca, the banker who will run the fund.

The BTG Pactual Brazil I fund lured about $500 million from the firm’s capital and $200 million from employees and partners, the newspaper said. Sovereign wealth funds and rich Latin American families also contributed cash for the fund, Valor added.

Fonseca told Valor that two companies have already been added to the fund’s portfolio: Brazil Pharma , the BTG Pactual-controlled drugstore chain that last week raised about $293 million in an initial public offering, and oil services company Brasbunker.

Calls made to a BTG Pactual spokeswoman on her mobile phone were not answered.

The fund is the third largest ever raised in Latin America, following Southern Cross’ $1.7 billion vehicle created last October and Advent International’s $1.65 billion fundraising effort in April, according to Thomson Reuters data.