Advent International raises USD2bn for seventh PE fund dedicated to Latin America

Submitted 30/09/2020 - 3:41pm

Global private equity investor Advent International has completed fundraising for Advent Latin American Private Equity Fund VII (LAPEF VII) with USD2 billion in commitments from institutional investors worldwide.

The new fund brings Advent’s total capital raised for Latin America since 1996 to approximately USD8 billion—the most of any private equity firm operating in the region. Including its Global Private Equity IX and Advent Tech funds closed last year, Advent has raised USD22 billion in private equity capital in the last 16 months.

“LAPEF VII is a testament to our strong track record in Latin America, established over six generations of funds and several economic and private equity cycles,” says Patrice Etlin, a Managing Partner at Advent in São Paulo and member of the firm’s global Executive Committee. “We continue to see compelling investment opportunities in the region, driven by attractive valuations and positive, long-term market dynamics. We look forward to partnering with mid-sized to large companies and helping them grow by applying our deep sector expertise, global platform and world-class operational resources.”

Continuing the same pan-regional, sector-focused strategy as its predecessors, LAPEF VII will invest primarily in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and may also invest opportunistically in nearby countries including Argentina and Chile. It will focus on five sectors where Advent has significant experience and knowledge: (1) business and financial services; (2) healthcare; (3) industrial; (4) retail, consumer and leisure; and (5) technology. The Fund will have the flexibility to deploy capital across various deal types—including buyouts, corporate carve-outs and growth equity transactions—and sizes, with equity investments ranging from $50 million to $300 million or more.

“Latin America is a large market with a rapidly growing middle class, fuelling strong demand for value-added products and services,” says 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.”

A broad base of institutional investors participated in LAPEF VII, including public and corporate pension funds, endowments and foundations, funds of funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and other financial institutions. The majority of the capital came from limited partners in LAPEF VI, with Advent admitting a select number of new strategic investors into the Fund as well.

“LAPEF VII reinforces Advent’s leadership position in Latin America and underscores our continued commitment to the region,” says David Mussafer, a Managing Partner at Advent in Boston and Co-Chair of the firm’s Executive Committee. “We appreciate the continued support from our diverse base of institutional investors and are delighted to welcome select new investors to the LAPEF program.”

Tags Funds Launches & Fundraising