Darby Expands Presence In Brazil
07/20/2005
Author:
Darby Overseas Investments, Ltd.
São Paulo, Brasil
www.darbyoverseas.com | Categories:
Venture Capital |
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Emerging markets investment firm Darby Overseas Investments Ltd. (“Darby”) sees increased opportunities for its private equity and mezzanine activities in Brazil and is opening a full office in São Paulo with additional professional staff. Over the past decade Darby has invested a cumulative total of just under $150 million in 11 Brazilian or Brazil-related companies operating in a wide variety of sectors including hotel management, book retailing, consumer packaging and security technology. Very recently Darby closed its $175 million Darby-BBVA Latin American Private Equity Fund, which has Brazil as one of its target markets alongside Mexico and the US Hispanic Market.
Article:
Darby sees potential for $100 million of new investments
São Paulo, July 20, 2005 -- Emerging markets investment firm Darby Overseas Investments Ltd. (“Darby”) sees increased opportunities for its private equity and mezzanine activities in Brazil and is opening a full office in São Paulo with additional professional staff, Darby’s chief executive officer, Richard Frank, said on a visit here.
Over the past decade Darby has invested a cumulative total of just under $150 million in 11 Brazilian or Brazil-related companies operating in a wide variety of sectors including hotel management, book retailing, consumer packaging and security technology.
Very recently Darby closed its $175 million Darby-BBVA Latin American Private Equity Fund, which has Brazil as one of its target markets alongside Mexico and the US Hispanic Market. This fund has already made one investment in Brazil, having acquired a stake in Satelite Distribuidora de Petroleo, S.A., a leading distributor of fuels and lubricants in the northeast of the country. In addition, the fund is currently considering several opportunities that in the aggregate could represent over $100 million in potential new investments for Brazil.
“Brazil is a core market for Darby, given the country’s sheer size, its economic potential and its leadership position among the world’s largest emerging economies,” added Mr. Frank. “In particular we see good future opportunities to invest in logistics, agribusiness, infrastructure, retailing and export-oriented sectors”.
Darby’s mezzanine activities include its first mezzanine fund, the Darby Latin American Mezzanine Fund launched in 1999. This fund has made an investment in Santos Brasil, S.A., the operator of the largest container terminal port in South America, located at the port of Santos, southeast of Sao Paulo. (Mezzanine is a hybrid of debt and equity financing, making use of debt instruments that include an equity feature).
In addition, Darby manages a Latin American Technology Venture Fund that provides venture capital and strategic advisory services to Latin American technology companies demonstrating the potential to become international market leaders.
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 and Fiduciary Trust investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 50 years of investment experience and more than $425 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2005. For more information, please call 1-800/DIAL BEN(r) or visit www.franklintempleton.com.
Contacts: Piero Minardi: (5511 3085 0586)
Brian Baluta: (1 212 632 3326