The formation of the Votorantim Group: the origins of a Brazilian business group in São Paulo's textile sector (1891-1924)

Abstract The origins of the largest Brazilian business groups are still seen as gaps in economic historiography. Votorantim, Brazil's eighth largest group in 2007, was created in 1891, when the Union Bank of São Paulo created the Votorantim Textile Factory in the city of Sorocaba (SP). Analyzing primary sources (scripture, balance sheets, profit and loss statements, management reports), we see that the Votorantim Factory was among São Paulo's largest cotton textile companies in 1918, when the Union Bank went bankrupt and its assets were purchased by Antonio Pereira Ignacio. In 1919, Pereira Ignacio formed the Votorantim Group (S. A. Votorantim Factory), acting in the textile sector, lime exploration, cement, real estate, as well as private railway. The group’s companies, after modernization in the early 1920s, increased productivity, in particular the Votorantim factory, which became the largest cotton textile firm in São Paulo in 1925.