LAVCA | The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America
  • About
    • About LAVCA
    • Board, Team, & Advisors
    • Media
    • Contact
  • Members
    • Membership Benefits
    • Current Members
    • Member Access
  • Education & Programs
    • About
    • LAVCA Week
    • Calendar & Past Programs
    • LAVCA Education
  • Research & Directories
    • LAVCA Research
    • Industry data
    • LP Survey
    • Directories
  • ESG & Impact
    • Deal Book
    • LAVCA ESG Deal Awards
    • Impact Report
    • ESG Guidelines
  • Articles
    • Featured Articles
    • Industry News
  • VC
  • Member Login
  • Member Access

LAVCA | The Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America

A non-profit member organization

  • About
    • About LAVCA
    • Board, Team, & Advisors
    • Media
    • Contact
  • Members
    • Membership Benefits
    • Current Members
    • Member Access
  • Education & Programs
    • About
    • LAVCA Week
    • Calendar & Past Programs
    • LAVCA Education
  • Research & Directories
    • LAVCA Research
    • Industry data
    • LP Survey
    • Directories
  • ESG & Impact
    • Deal Book
    • LAVCA ESG Deal Awards
    • Impact Report
    • ESG Guidelines
  • Articles
    • Featured Articles
    • Industry News
  • VC

Executive Briefing: Beyond the Headlines – What’s the Deal in Mexico and Brazil?

March 31, 2016

Conventional wisdom has it that the PE/VC opportunity in Latin America is never quite as good or as bad as the headlines and investor herd would lead us to believe. Earlier this month LAVCA published data on 2015 PE/VC activity in Latin America, and never has it been more important to look beyond the headlines to understand the real market dynamics, particularly in the region’s main economies of Brazil and Mexico. .

 

Attendance at the annual AMEXCAP conference in Mexico City in mid-March surpassed 600 professionals from across real estate, infrastructure, PE and VC, alongside an impressive turnout of cabinet ministers, pension fund CIOs, and major family offices. I first noticed a dramatic increase in participation at the 2015 AMEXCAP conference, and the momentum has continued as investors look to capitalize on new opportunities created by President Peña Nieto’s reform agenda.

Although the next few years might be painful, accountability, transparency, and democratic institutions are all coming out ahead in the midst of Brazil’s corruption scandals and political crisis

LAVCA 2016 Industry Data supports the idea that the Mexican deal pipeline is finally opening up: a record US$2.3b was invested through 88 transactions, an increase of 80% in number of deals and 72% in amount invested year-on-year. Historically, Mexico has been underrepresented in Latin America’s private capital industry, with large family and business groups dominating the deal landscape and crowding out institutional funds.

But a closer look at the investment breakdown for 2015 points to a relative dearth of mid-market transactions. Of the total US$2.3b, almost US$1.6b can be attributed to five large energy related deals realized by international firms – First Reserve, Blackrock, EIG, KKR, and Partners Group all piled into Mexican oil & gas and renewables.

At the other end of the spectrum, a rapidly expanding community of Mexican early stage investors drove the record 88 transactions, with 48 deals classified as venture capital. More than half of the VC deals were for early round tickets under US$1m. But it is worth noting momentum and later stage rounds for Mexican fintech startups, with Yellow Pepper completing a Series C round for US$19m, and Clip raising US$8m in Series A funding.

The bottom line is that the mid-market pipeline and Mexican PE activity overall still looks fairly anemic for the size of the economy. Progress is visible in a broader awareness and understanding of PE, as evidenced by the AMEXCAP conference attendance and increased participation from Mexican pension funds. And critically, it appears that some important family offices are setting up institutional funds and empowering a new generation to move beyond club deals brokered among a tight circle of peers.

LAVCA data on 2015 PE/VC activity in Brazil appears to reflect the profound economic and political crisis that the country is undergoing – at US$2.6b, fundraising was off by more than half as compared to 2014, and investments of US$3.2b were down by almost a third Y-O-Y. Separately, some Brazilian GPs currently marketing funds are struggling to convince global LPs to look beyond today’s headlines to the country’s longer term potential.

But a closer look at the numbers and market signals point to another interpretation. When correcting for the depreciation of the Brazilian real over the course of 2015, PE/VC investments were down by just 11%. Managers with the right profile/product were very well received by international LPs, with oversubscribed funds from HIG, Axxon, and Patria. European PE leader CVC Capital Partners opened an office in São Paulo in December, and Canadian pension fund CPPIB is actively recruiting to expand its Brazilian team. Local and international VC investors are teaming up on co-investments in later rounds for a handful of rapidly scaling winners such as Nubank and Psafe.

And opportunity is arising from adversity. Advent, Brookfield, and GP Investments bid to acquire a stake in Petrobras’ fuel distribution unit. PE investors have an opportunity to move into airport concessions and other infrastructure projects previously dominated by construction companies that are now sidelined by their involvement in the Petrobras scandal. Distressed investing has emerged as a new strategy in Brazil, with 2015 closings for dedicated distressed funds from local players Jive Investments and Brasil Plural.

More fundamentally, although the next few years might be painful, accountability, transparency, and democratic institutions are all coming out ahead in the midst of Brazil’s corruption scandals and political crisis. This fact is not lost on long-term investors with exposure to EM such as China and Russia.

Executive Briefing: Beyond the Headlines – What’s the Deal in Mexico and Brazil? was last modified: September 21st, 2016 by Editor
0
Facebook Twitter Google +

Sign up for LAVCA’s bi-weekly Latin American Private Capital Update and the LatAm Venture Bulletin, produced specifically for venture investors, entrepreneurs, and technology startups in the early stage ecosystem.






Which LAVCA Newsletter would you like to receive?

VC Partner Events

    Tweets

    • "According to LAVCA Data, VC investment into Latin American fintech totaled USD1.2b in the first quarter of 2022."… https://t.co/oikd3BXiCU

      24-Jun-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite
    • Felicitaciones a la Directora Ejecutiva de LAVCA @lavca_org Ángela María Tafur @naitafur quien se ha incorporado al… https://t.co/qjHgnmFPS3

      14-Jun-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite
    • LAVCA's Director of Venture Capital @crdelavega_ shares insights with @TechCrunch's @bayareawriter on the latest d… https://t.co/krypDTI5NE

      14-Jun-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite
    • Congratulations to LAVCA's Executive Director @naitafur who has joined the Board of Directors of @GRUPOSURA. https://t.co/47bv5fyVhT

      13-Jun-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite
    • In 2018, @_AquaCapital invested in agricultural biologicals platform @Biotropbr. In 3 years, the company has reduce… https://t.co/PDu5zkchTs

      13-Jun-2022

      Reply Retweet Favorite

    Submit VC News

    Have private equity or venture capital related news that you would like to share? Submit your press releases and news to [email protected].

    VC Industry News

    • Ecuadorian Fintech Kushki Raises USD100m Series B+ at USD1.5b Valuation

      June 7, 2022
    • Vinci Partners Acquires USD20m Stake in Brazilian Credit Provider DMCard

      February 21, 2022
    • 8VC Leads ~USD35.4m Round for Brazilian Insurtech 180 Seguros (em português)

      February 2, 2022
    • Glade Brook Capital Leads USD125m Series C for Chilean Insurtech Betterfly

      February 2, 2022
    • SP Ventures and Acre.VC Lead USD10m Series A for Brazilian Carbon Trading Marketplace Moss (em português)

      January 31, 2022
    • Brazilian Healthtech Nilo Saúde Raises USD10m Series A from Canary, MAYA, SoftBank, GFC and Tau Ventures

      January 28, 2022
    • Valor Capital Group Leads ~USD16m Series A for Brazilian Agtech Agrolend (em português)

      January 23, 2022
    • DILA Capital and Kayyak Ventures Lead USD15m Series A for Mexican Financing Platform Fairplay

      January 18, 2022
    • Astella Investimentos Leads ~USD4.6m Seed Round for Brazilian Blockchain Trading Platform Gavea (em português)

      January 12, 2022
    • SoftBank Leads USD48m Series B for Colombian E-commerce Laika

      January 12, 2022
    • KASZEK Leads USD13.2m Round for Mexican Fantasy Sports Platform Draftea

      January 7, 2022
    • IDC Ventures Leads ~USD5m Series A for Brazilian Microcredit Platform SuperSim (em português)

      January 6, 2022
    • Mexican Verification Platform MetaMap Raises USD70m Series B

      January 5, 2022
    • DRADS Capital Leads USD7m Pre-Series A for Chilean Foodtech The Live Green Co. (en español)

      January 3, 2022
    • SoftBank Leads USD127m Round for Brazilian Healthcare Provider Alice

      December 21, 2021
    • DILA Capital and ALIVE Ventures Lead USD14m Series A for Edtech Slang

      December 20, 2021
    • Astella Investimentos and SoftBank Lead ~USD3m Seed Round for Brazilian Automation Platform BotCity (em português)

      December 20, 2021
    • GIC Leads USD80m Round for Colombian POS Lending Platform ADDI (em português)

      December 20, 2021
    • Yara Growth Ventures Leads USD30m Series C for Argentine Agtech Agrofy (em português)

      December 16, 2021
    • Tiger Global Leads USD60m Series B for Mexican Freight Platform Nowports

      December 16, 2021
    • SoftBank Leads ~USD120m Round for Brazilian Fintech OpenCo (em português)

      December 15, 2021
    • DN Capital Leads ~USD22.2m Series A+ for Brazilian Healthtech Sami

      December 14, 2021
    • Riverwood Capital Leads ~USD52m Series B for Brazilian Fiscal Management Platform Arquivei (em português)

      December 14, 2021
    • KASZEK Leads USD2.7m Seed Round for Peruvian Edtech Crack the Code

      December 13, 2021
    • GIC Leads ~USD32m Series C for Brazilian Delivery Platform Shopper (em português)

      December 13, 2021
    • Tiger Global Leads USD20.5m Round for Mexican Freight Platform Nuvocargo

      December 10, 2021
    • Advent International and SoftBank Lead USD60m Series B+ in E-Commerce Aggregator Merama

      December 9, 2021
    • Volpe Capital Leads ~USD5m Series A for Brazilian Corporate Governance Platform Atlas Governance

      December 8, 2021
    • Lachy Groom Leads USD14.8m Series A for Brazilian Fintech Stark Bank (em português)

      December 8, 2021
    • Prosus Ventures Leads USD60m Series B for Colombian Edtech Platzi

      December 6, 2021
    • KASZEK Leads USD10m Series A for Brazilian Workspace Marketplace Beer or Coffee (em português)

      November 30, 2021
    • Galapagos Capital Invests ~USD20m in Brazilian Cosmetics MedBeauty (em português)

      November 18, 2021
    • Oak HC Leads USD27m Series A for Mexican Payment Platform Aplazo

      November 15, 2021
    • Colombian E-commerce Fulfillment Platform Melonn Raises USD4.5 Seed Round

      November 3, 2021
    • DNA Capital, Temasek and Fit Participações Lead ~USD20m Round for Brazilian Healthtech Memed

      November 1, 2021
    • Astella Investimentos Leads ~USD5m Round for Brazilian Proptech Homelend (em português)

      October 28, 2021
    • KASZEK Leads USD8m Round for Brazilian Car Documentation Platform Gringo

      October 27, 2021
    • SoftBank Leads USD75m Series C for Brazilian BPO Platform Pipefy

      October 26, 2021
    • Mexican Delivery Platform Skydropx Raised USD20m Seres A from Cometa, Base10 Partners, 645 Ventures

      October 26, 2021
    • Brazilian Car Insurtech Justos Raises ~USD35.8m Series A from SoftBank, KASZEK and Others

      October 25, 2021
    • Andreessen Horowitz and Base Partners Lead USD15m Series A for Colombian Foodtech Foodology

      October 22, 2021
    • Unbox Capital Leads USD30m Series B for Brazilian Marketing Platform Rock Content (em português)

      October 22, 2021
    • L Catterton Leads Investment in Mexican DTC Eyewear Brand Ben & Frank

      October 21, 2021
    • Anthos Capital Leads USD18m Series A for Venezuelan Delivery Platform Yummy

      October 21, 2021
    • Flourish Ventures and GFC Lead USD10m Series A for Brazilian Wholesale Marketplace Merce do Bairro

      October 21, 2021
    • Tiger Global Leads USD35m Series A for Argentine Fintech Pomelo

      October 21, 2021
    • Brazilian Wholesale Marketplace Inventa Raises ~USD6m Seed Round (em português)

      October 20, 2021
    • QED Investors and KASZEK Lead USD40m Series C for Brazilian Fintech Hash

      October 20, 2021
    • SoftBank, Amazon and Accel Lead USD108m Series B for Brazilian Fintech Pismo (en español)

      October 19, 2021
    • SP Ventures and Astella Investimentos Lead USD17m Series A for Brazilian Fintech Traive (em português)

      October 18, 2021
    • Tencent and SoftBank Lead USD200m Series F for Brazilian Trucking Marketplace CargoX (em português)

      October 15, 2021
    • Valor Capital Group Leads USD22m Series A for Mexican Edtech Aprende Institute

      October 11, 2021
    • Square Capital and Hard Yaka Invest USD15m in Colombian Digital Payments Platform Movii (en español)

      October 6, 2021

    About LAVCA

     

    LAVCA is the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America, a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to supporting the growth of private capital in Latin America and the Caribbean through research, education, networking and advocacy.

    LAVCA Office

        New York City:
        589 8th Ave, 18th Floor
        New York, NY 10018

    Explore LAVCA.org

    • About LAVCA
    • Board, Team, & Advisors
    • Media
    • Contact Us
    • Membership Benefits
    • Members Only Access
    • Education and Programs
    • Research
    • Policy
    • LAVCA VC
    • Contact Us

    @2020 - LAVCA. All Rights Reserved.


    Back To Top