Advent cements place as largest PE investor in Latin America

Advent International’s latest Latin America-focused offering has received $2 billion, bringing the firm’s total capital raised in the region since 1996 to $8 billion -- the most of any private equity firm operating in the Latin America. Over the past 24 years, the $58 billion firm has invested or committed $6.8 billion in 64 businesses across the region and fully exited its positions in 43 companies, including nine IPOs. Today, its current Latin American portfolio companies employ more than 80,000 people. The firm has established the largest dedicated private equity team in the region, comprising nearly 40 investment and portfolio support professionals working out of offices in Bogotá, Lima, Mexico City and São Paulo, officials said. “Latin America is a large market with a rapidly growing middle class, fueling strong demand for value-added products and services,” said Juan Pablo Zucchini, a managing partner at Advent, also based in São Paulo. “Additionally, many Latin American sectors remain highly fragmented, and a large percentage of mid-sized businesses are family-owned. This presents opportunities to create value by consolidating industries, professionalizing businesses and accelerating growth.” Since 2006, companies that Advent has owned for at least a year have increased revenue and EBITDA on average by 14% and 13% annually during its investment. The combined enterprise value of the firm’s Latin American portfolio has doubled to $41 billion under its ownership. The launch of the Advent Latin American Private Equity Fund VII (LAPEF VII) also marks $22 billion in private equity capital raised by the Boston firm in the last 16 months with large sums flowing to its Global Private Equity IX and Advent Tech funds closed last year. Patrice Etlin, a managing partner at Advent in São Paulo and member of the firm’s global executive committee, said that the new fund’s success is a testament to the firm’s strong track record in Latin America, established over six generations of funds. “We continue to see compelling investment opportunities in the region, driven by attractive valuations and positive, long-term market dynamics,” said Etlin. “We look forward to partnering with mid-sized to larger companies and helping them grow by applying our deep sector expertise, global platform and world-class operational resources.” LAPEF VII will invest primarily in Brazil, Columbia, Mexico and Peru, and may also invest opportunistically in countries such as Argentina and Chile. Advent is eyeing five sectors -- business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology. With deal sizes ranging from $50 million to $300 million or more, deal types will span buyouts, corporate carve-outs and growth equity transactions. Advent’s recent investments in Latin America include Nubank, the world’s largest independent digital bank; CI&T, a global provider of digital transformation services; Prisma Medios de Pago, Argentina’s leading payments company; Grupo BIG (formerly Walmart Brazil), the third-largest food retailer in Brazil; Enjoy, a hotel and casino operator in Chile, Uruguay and Argentina; Grupo Farmacéutico Somar, a leading generic drug manufacturer in Mexico; YDUQS, the second-largest post-secondary education company in Brazil; and Canvia, a leading IT services provider in Peru.

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