Michael Klein (businessman)
Michael Klein (born 1951) is a Brazilian business executive. He is the CEO of the Brazilian chain of department stores, Casas Bahia, and former Chairman of Via Varejo, the parent company of Casas Bahia, Cnova Brazil and Ponto Frio. Michael's father, Samuel Klein, founded Casas Bahia in 1952. Since June 2019, the Klein family own a controlling stake in Via Varejo. In 2015, in its annual ranking of the wealthiest people in the world, Forbes listed Klein with a personal net worth of $1.3 billion. Career ventures Casas Bahia and Via Varejo Klein graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Paes de Barros University, and completed his post-graduate studies at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. In 1969, he joined Casas Bahia as a Financial Manager. In 2009, Klein became CEO of the company after his father retired in Brazil. In 2010, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Via Varejo. His son, Raphael Oscar Klein, has served as a Member of the Board of Directors of Via Varejo. In May 2013, it was announced that the Klein family, which owned 47% of Via Varejo, was planning to sell 16% of their stake in the company. In September 2013, Klein transferred 17.6 million of his shares of Via Varejo to his children, and as a result, his stake in the company has been reduced from 21.9% to 18%. 53.7 million common shares of the family's stake began trading on December 16, 2013. Via Varejo raised R$ 2.845 billion through a public offering of shares. Three quarters of the amount raised went to the Klein family, while the rest went to GPA. Ownership of the company has changed to GPA with 43.3%, the Klein family with 27.3%, and minority shareholders with 29.3%. In June 2014, Cnova, a global e-commerce company with a total gross merchandise volume of $4.9 billion, was created through a joint venture between Casino, GPA, Via Varejo and Exito. Cnova will be directly owned 46.5% by Casino (including its subsidiary Exito) and 53.5% indirectly by GPA, Via Varejo and certain founding shareholders of Nova Pontocom. The Klein family hold a 5.98% stake in Cnova, which owns and operates the following online stores: Extra.com.br, Casasbahia.com.br, Pontofrio.com, Cdiscount.com.br, Barateiro.com, Pontofrio Atacado, and eHub.com.br. In August 2014, it was announced that Klein may sell an amount of shares valued at R$3 billion of his stake in Via Varejo. In May 2016, it was announced that Klein is interested in buying back control of Via Varejo. In October 2016, it was revealed that the Steinhoff Group is in talks to buy the Klein family's stake in Via Varejo, in a deal that could reach R$1.5 billion. In March 2017, it was reported that Klein is lining up a proposal with several investment funds to buy back control of Via Varejo. Under Klein's plan, he would become the majority shareholder of Via Varejo, with just over 50% of the shares, and would have autonomy in management. In May 2019, it was