One of the leading companies in ranking of the Country's largest builders and incorporators, Gafisa S.A. began its successful trajectory in 1954, in Rio de Janeiro, where it began to operate under the denomination Gomes de Almeida, Fernandes. Three decades later, its name was altered to Gafisa Imobiliária and at the end of 1997, with an association from GP Investimentos - which is majority shareholder since 2003 with currently 60% of the shares -, it was renamed Gafisa S. A., a publicly traded company, without its shares being negotiated on the stock market however.

Throughout its first 50 years of life, the company has realized more than 800 enterprises, including luxury residential condominiums, commercial buildings, flats and shoppings centers , which add up to around 9 million square meters of constructed area in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

However in 2004, upon deciding to expand its area of operation, it created the New Business Board of Directors, focusing on construction sectors for third parties, urban subdivisions and build to suit in addition to conquering markets outside the Rio/São Paulo axis. As a fruit of this strategy, Gafisa is already present in Manaus (AM), Salvador (BA), Itu (SP), Macaé (RJ) and Belém (PA), and by the end of this year should leave its mark in Cuiabá (MT) and Campinas (SP).

Also in 2005, it announced a partnership with Equity International Properties (EIP), a leading North American company in real estate sector investments in Latin America. The company, which belongs to Equity Group Investments (LLC) and is commanded by Samuel Zell, invested R$ 135 million in the Brazilian company and thus came to hold 32% of its shares.