Advent International has agreed to acquire technology consulting services company Sophos Solutions from The Colombia Securities Exchange Group (bvc Group) for COP$129.6b (US$35.6m). 

(Press Release) Advent International (“Advent”), one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, and the Colombia Securities Exchange Group (“bvc Group”), announced today the signing of an agreement to acquire Sophos Solutions, a leading company in technology consulting services for the banking sector.

Sophos Solutions was founded in 2006 by Indian visionaries and entrepreneurs, and since 2015, Grupo bvc has been its majority shareholder. The company has been a key ally for the digital transformation and implementation of technological systems in financial institutions in Colombia.

“The investment in Sophos has been extraordinary, given that thanks to it we entered the technology services space where we achieved impressive milestones not only in our country but also in Latin America and today bvc is a referent in the fintech and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Colombia. In recent years, the company has shown robust growth both at revenue and profit level. This transaction gives us a unique opportunity to realize a significant profit and provide the group with the resources required to focus bvc Group towards its core business and the investments that will be necessary to achieve these strategic objectives,” said Juan Pablo Córdoba, CEO of bvc Group.

The divestment of Sophos is driven by bvc Group’s main long-term objective of focusing on its core business. This new focus will have the following strategic pillars: i) growth and depth of liquidity and investment opportunities in the capital markets, ii) digital transformation of the ecosystem and strengthening operational resilience and business continuity, and iii) regional integration. This strategy will lever on a wide product and services portfolio covering the capital markets’ value chain infrastructure—through the proper functioning of all the managed markets—in an environment that is regulated, secure, transparent, resilient and equitable.

Mauricio Salgar, Managing Director of Advent International in Bogota, stated: “Sophos Solutions is a great company in a sector with enormous potential. We plan to promote its growth and internationalization and foster its consolidation as a regional player. Our intention is to support financial institutions, promoting their development, consolidating their digital transformation processes, accelerating their modernization and turning Colombia into a center of technology and innovation in Latin America. We are excited to be able to share our sector knowledge, best practices and world class operational resources, including the expertise of our global tech team.”

Sophos Solutions has been key in the technological transformation of the Colombian financial system and specializes in the implementation of core banking systems and the operation of testing services, software factories and cloud migrations.

Mauricio Mosseri, CEO of Sophos Solutions, stated “Over the last few years we have maintained a very good and successful relationship with Grupo bvc, which supported and strengthened the robust growth of our business in Colombia and the rest of the region. Now at this new stage in Sophos’ history with Advent as a new strategic partner, we hope to implement a growth plan that aims to turn Sophos into a world-class player in digital transformation in the region.”

This transaction includes bvc’s entire shareholding in Sophos Solutions for an amount close to $129,598 million pesos (before deductions of applicable taxes and other transaction related costs). In addition, Advent acquired a stake from other Sophos’ shareholders, thus becoming the controlling shareholder of the company.

Advent is one of the leading and longest-established private equity investors in Latin America. Over the past 24 years, the firm has invested or committed $6.8 billion in 64 businesses across the region. Advent recently completed fundraising for its seventh Latin American Private Equity Fund (“LAPEF VII”), which received $2 billion in commitments from institutional investors worldwide.

Equiteq are acting as financial advisors to bvc, and PPU – Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría are serving as legal advisors to bvc. DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán are serving as legal advisors to Advent.