US investment management firm Colony Capital has agreed to acquire the Latin American private equity platform of UAE-based Abraaj Group for an undisclosed price.
Image: Abraaj’s Latin American private equity platform to be acquired by Colony Capital. Photo: courtesy of rawpixel/Unsplash.com.
Upon completion of the deal, the Abraaj private equity platform in Latin America will be renamed as Colony Latam Partners.
The transaction is being carried out through PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Deloitte, the joint provisional liquidators of Abraaj Holdings and Abraaj Investment Management.
Subject to certain approvals, the deal is anticipated to be completed during the first quarter.
In June 2018, Abraaj Holdings and Abraaj Investment Management filed for provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands. Deloitte and PwC, the court-appointed joint provisional liquidators, are managing the restructuring of the UAE group’s debt and also the spinning off of some of its funds to new fund managers.
Currently, the Abraaj business in Latin America handles more than $500m and has deployed in excess of $700m in 22 investments since its founding in 2006.
The company is primarily engaged on growth equity investments in middle-market firms throughout the Pacific Alliance, a trade bloc made up of Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru.
Colony Capital private equity managing director and global head Justin Chang said: “The team has established itself as a premier private equity investor across Latin America and has positioned the Company for rapid expansion.
“With a long and deep history of investing across emerging markets, Colony Capital looks forward to supporting Colony Latam Partners’ proven investment philosophy, process and strategy.”
Colony Capital said that it is partnering with the senior management team of the Abraaj Latin American business. The existing partners Miguel Angel Olea Sisniega, Hector Martinez Fry, Eduardo Cortina Murrieta and Gerardo Mendoza Llanes will continue to look over the company’s operations across Latin America.
Sisniega said: “We are confident that our partnership with Colony Capital is the best decision for the Company, our investors and for our professional growth.
“We believe that an alliance with an organization of such first-class talent, high-quality products, and extensive distribution networks will benefit all of our stakeholders.
“As a member of the Colony Capital family, we will build upon our strong foundations and continue to pursue robust investment returns for our Limited Partners, while making sure that we deliver on our promise of providing intelligent growth capital to our portfolio companies.”