(Press Release) Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, today announced that Enrique Pani has joined the firm as a Managing Director in its Mexico City office. Mr. Pani will work alongside Luis Solórzano, head of Mexico for Advent, and 12 other investment professionals in the office. Today, Advent has the largest dedicated private equity team in Latin America, with 41 investment professionals working from offices in Mexico City, Bogotá and São Paulo.
Prior to joining Advent, Mr. Pani was a Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking for Mexico at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML). There he was responsible for managing the investment banking coverage and execution team based in Mexico City and was also a member of the BAML Management Committee.
Mr. Pani started his career as an equity research analyst and has over 20 years of investment banking experience in Mexico and New York. He established and was responsible for investment banking operations in Mexico at Deutsche Bank, BTG Pactual and, most recently, BAML. He has advised clients in the financial services, healthcare, retail and infrastructure sectors across Latin America and has raised more than US$20 billion in capital for his clients.
“Enrique is a great addition to our firm as his broad experience and deep relationships in a number of our target sectors will benefit Advent as we continue to build on the local team’s achievements”, said Luis Solórzano, a Managing Director and Head of Mexico for Advent. “We have a 20-year presence in Mexico and continue to believe it is an attractive market for private equity. We look forward to welcoming Enrique to the team.”
Since opening its Mexico City office in 1996, Advent’s local team has invested in 25 companies in Mexico, the Caribbean and other Latin American and global markets. The team focuses on buyouts and growth equity investments in the firm’s five core sectors: business and financial services; healthcare; industrial, including infrastructure; retail, consumer and leisure, including education; and technology, media and telecom. Recent Mexican investments include; Viakem, a Mexico-based manufacturer of fine chemicals for the global agrochemical industry; Grupo Financiero Mifel, a Mexican mid-sized bank serving the mass-affluent retail segment and small and medium-sized companies; and InverCap Holdings, a Mexican mandatory pension fund manager.
“Advent is one of the leading private equity firms in Latin America, and I am excited to begin working with Luis and the team in Mexico as well as with Advent professionals throughout the region and worldwide,” said Mr. Pani. “Advent has a differentiated approach to investing and building value in Latin American companies, and I believe my prior experience and existing relationships will be quite complementary to this large and talented group.”
In the 20 years it has been operating in Latin America, Advent has raised more than $6 billion for investment in the region from institutional investors globally, including $2.1 billion raised in 2014 for LAPEF VI. LAPEF VI is the largest private equity fund ever raised for the region1. Since 1996, the firm has invested in over 50 Latin American companies and fully realized its positions in 35 of those businesses.