Brazil's Esteves makes another play after UBS deal

SAO PAULO, May 18 (Reuters) - BTG, the investment company owned by Brazilian billionaire Andre Esteves, bought a 50 percent stake in local parking facility company Estapar on Monday as demand for parking space grows in the nation's main metropolitan areas.

BTG, which stands for Banking and Trading Group, last month bought the Brazilian unit of UBS AG (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N) for $2.5 billion, and will pay in cash for half ownership of Allpark, the holding company that owns Estapar, said Helio Cerqueira Jr., an Allpark partner.

"It's a strategic move that will allow both BTG and Estapar to grow into Brazil's lucrative and booming real estate market, because our business is closely linked to city development in urban areas," Cerqueira told Reuters. He declined to disclose the amount of the transaction.

Currently Estapar, the brand name for Allpark's parking facility business, controls up to 4 percent of Brazil's parking space market.

The deal "will surely allow us to double that market share within three years," he said, adding that there currently are no plans to take Estapar or Allpark public.

The Estapar purchase will allow BTG to tap into a growing market as Brazil's car fleet grows on the back of rising household income. Prices for parking space, which rise in tandem with those of housing and office real estate, have increased in recent years close to double-digits, Cerqueira said.

By bringing in BTG, Allpark gains access to cash from a deep-pocketed partner at a time when the cost of financing has risen and access to credit is difficult in the wake of the global financial crisis. Previously, Estapar funded expansion only with cash from its shareholders, Cerqueira said.

"Estapar will have access to capital as part of a strategy which will give the company an unprecedented competitive advantage in the sector," BTG said in a statement.

Estapar controls 630 parking lots around Brazil and over 141,000 stalls. It also has more than 15,000 on-street parking stalls in 11 Brazilian cities, and has 4,000 employees on payroll.