(Advent International) October 23, 2012 – Advent International, one of the leading global private equity firms, announced that Mauricio Salgar has joined the firm as a Managing Director and head of its office in Bogotá, Colombia. He will lead Advent’s seven-person local team, focusing on investments in high-growth companies in Colombia, Peru and the surrounding region.

 Prior to joining Advent, Mr. Salgar was a vice president and member of the executive committee at Sanford, a privately held investment firm with ownership interests in the petrochemical, manufacturing, plastics and services sectors in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil and Mexico. His responsibilities included portfolio-company oversight, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. While at Sanford, Mr. Salgar also served on the boards of several of the firm’s portfolio companies. 

Previously, Mr. Salgar was chief operating officer of Ecopetrol, the Colombian national oil company, where he was responsible for its exploration, production, refining, supply and marketing organizations, and shared services units. He also served as Ecopetrol’s interim chief executive officer for a period of time, during which he successfully led the effort to secure the Colombian Congress’ approval to partially privatize Ecopetrol through an initial public offering. 

“Mauricio is a great addition to our firm, as he understands the region well and believes in our approach of driving revenue and profit growth in portfolio companies to generate attractive investment returns,” said Patrice Etlin, a Managing Partner at Advent International. “We continue to believe Colombia and Peru are attractive markets for private equity, and Mauricio’s broad range of experience and deep relationships in a number of our target sectors will benefit us as we build on the current team’s success.” 

Mr. Salgar succeeds Diego Serebrisky, who will be leaving Advent to pursue other business interests. Mr. Serebrisky will remain with the firm for a transition period until the end of 2012. “We appreciate Diego’s contributions to the firm over the years and wish him well in his future endeavors,” Mr. Etlin said.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Salgar said, “Advent is one of the leading private equity firms in Latin America, and I am excited to begin working with the team in Bogotá as well as with Advent professionals worldwide. Advent has the right approach for success in Colombia and Peru, and I believe my experience in the firm’s focus industries provides a good complement to an already strong group.”

Advent’s Bogotá office focuses on buyouts and growth equity investments in companies in fast-growing industries where Advent has deep expertise. Target sectors include pharmaceuticals, retail, energy, financial services and services for the mining and oil and gas industries. In November 2011, Advent made its first investment in Colombia, acquiring a majority stake in Biotoscana Farma, a marketer of specialty pharmaceutical products.

Advent has been operating in Latin America for 16 years, during which time it has invested in 44 companies and exited 30 of these businesses. In 2010, the firm established its fifth Latin American fund, LAPEF V. Capitalized at US$1.65 billion, it is one of the largest private equity funds in the region and brings Advent’s total capital raised for Latin America to more than US$5 billion. In addition to Biotoscana Farma, the firm’s recent investments include Kroton Educacional (BM&FBOVESPA: KROT11), the largest private education company in Brazil; Terminal de Contêineres de Paranaguá (TCP), the third-largest container terminal in Brazil; and Laboratorio LKM, a leading branded generic pharmaceutical company in Argentina.

Prior to Ecopetrol, Mr. Salgar co-founded despegar.com, an online travel agency, and was an associate at Booz & Co., where he advised clients that included the largest water utility in Colombia, the largest tin mine in Peru and the largest construction company in Colombia. Mr. Salgar earned his M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management and his B.S. in industrial engineering from Universidad de los Andes.

About Advent International

Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the world’s leading global buyout firms, with offices in 16 countries on four continents. A driving force in international private equity for 28 years, Advent has built an unparalleled global platform of over 160 investment professionals across Western and Central Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on international buyouts, strategic repositioning opportunities and growth buyouts in five core sectors, working actively with management teams to drive revenue growth and earnings improvements in portfolio companies. Since inception, Advent has raised $26 billion in private equity capital and, through its buyout programs, has completed over 270 transactions in 35 countries. www.adventinternational.com.