Argentina

Lucens Capital acquired a controlling stake in Dirsana San Luis, a specialty chemicals company in Argentina that produces water-based emulsions, coating, adhesive, and graphic ink.

MercadoLibre acquired Machinalis, a startup applying machine learning to product recommendation. Machinalis emerged from the math & computation department at la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC).

Clara Capital acquired Argentinean medicinal packaging manufacturer Barrier Solution. The company has a plant of 3,000 square meters in the town of San Fernando, from where it supplies the pharmaceutical industry in Argentina and other countries in the region, with customers such as Bayer, GSK , Astra Zeneca , Pfizer, Savant, Gador and Elea Phoenix, among others.  Previously, Clara had acquired Berkes.

The Ministry of Production of the Nation of Argentina collaborated with the National Insurance Superintendent, ARCAP, ASEA and the insurance sector to allow Argentine insurance companies to invest in startups. Now according to the Instituciones de Capital Emprendedor (ICEs) insurance companies can invest up to 1% in entrepreneurial capital funds, in addition to previously approved capital commitments to other private capital sectors (including PPPs, infrastructure, and real estate).

On May 9, 2018, the Argentine Congress passed the Productive Financing Law. This law introduces significant reforms to Capital Markets Law No. 26,831 (“CML”) with the objective of achieving a modern financial regulatory framework that contributes to the development of the country’s economy.

A newly-passed capital markets reform bill in Argentina will loosen restrictions on some funds investing in the country. The upgrade would open the country to a wider range of more risk-averse investment funds. The bill allows closed-end mutual funds to invest in alternative assets like real estate or farmland, while requiring them to raise funds through a public offering to boost transparency, according to Reuters.

NXTP Labs participated in an undisclosed investment round in Pay per TIC, an Argentine last-mile payments platform.

LLR Partners led a US$31m Series C in Argentine cybersecurity startup Onapsis, with participation from existing institutional investors .406 Ventures, Evolution Equity Partners and Arsenal Venture Partners. Onassis is now headquartered in Boston. 

Australian jobsite SEEK made a R$23m investment in freelance labor platform Workana. SEEK led a R$8m round in 2017. Previous investors include NXTP Labs and DMGT.

Equity International, Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division, and Centaurus Capital, in partnership with Grupo Pegasus, announced the formation and US$300 million investment of ARG Realty Group, a commercial real estate…