(peHUB) Darby Private Equity, the private equity unit of Franklin Templeton Investments, said Tuesday that it has made an investment in Grupo Bioerix. No financial terms were disclosed. Bioerix is a supplier of pharmaceutical and medical products to the healthcare industry in Uruguay and the region.

Darby Private Equity (“Darby”), the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments, announced that Darby Latin American Mezzanine Fund II, L.P. (“DLAMF II”) completed an investment in Grupo Bioerix (“Bioerix”), a leading pharmaceutical and medical products supplier to the healthcare industry in Uruguay and the region. Bioerix includes the Bioerix SRL, Galia SA and Herix SA companies. Transaction details were not disclosed.

Bioerix imports and distributes technology, equipment and supplies for medical use, in addition to pharmaceutical products produced in its own plant and through exclusive representations of international brands. Bioerix operates in three main divisions, hospital supplies, diagnostics and pharmaceutical products. Founded in Uruguay in 1994, Bioerix has expanded in the region having offices in Bolivia and Paraguay.

Richard Frank, Jr., Darby’s Managing Director responsible for DLAMF II, commented, “We are pleased to have concluded this investment in Bioerix as it reinforces Darby’s longstanding commitment to investing in the region and its growing economies. We are attracted to Bioerix because of its strong market leadership, successful track record in Uruguay, and its potential for regional expansion to meet the growing demand in the Latin American healthcare sector.”

Pablo Salomone, Bioerix’s Chairman and CEO, commented “Darby’s investment will allow us to consolidate Bioerix as a regional player in the healthcare industry maintaining a clear leadership position in Uruguay. The capital we received will allow the company to grow by continuing to provide the full range of products currently in our portfolio as well as introducing new brand representations to the country and to the region. Our pharmaceutical division will also gain from new proprietary developments while maintaining the highest quality standards.”
The investment in Bioerix adds to Darby’s long history of successful investments in Latin America. Darby has played a pioneering role in bringing private equity and mezzanine—a hybrid of both debt and equity—to emerging market regions, initially Latin America, then to Asia and more recently to Central and Southeastern Europe.

Darby Private Equity was founded in 1994 by The Honorable Nicholas F. Brady, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury between 1988 and 1993. Richard Frank joined the firm as CEO in 1997 after his career at the International Finance Corporation (IFC)/World Bank.

Darby is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc, (NYSE:BEN), a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust, Darby and Bissett investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 65 years of investment experience and more than US$834 billion in assets under management as of July 31, 2013. For more information please visit franklintempleton.com.