(Tampa Bay Business Journal) AFLG, a Tampa-based private equity firm, has invested an initial US$50m in Quimatec and plans to raise as much as US$250m. Within five or six years, AFLG expects to take Quimatec public through an initial public offering.

Port Tampa Bay could become a stronger hub for international trade, in the wake of a capital infusion into a Brazilian chemical company by AFLG Investments.

AFLG, a Tampa-based private equity firm, invested an initial $50 million in Quimatec, and plans to raise as much as $250 million for the company eventually, said Freddy Russian, AFLG president and CEO. Within five or six years, AFLG expects to take Quimatec public through an initial public offering.

Quimatec currently exports less than 3 percent of the ethanol and other products it produces and uses the remaining 97 percent in Brazil, said Agustin Perez-Andrade, AFLG executive vice president. “They know there is huge potential for exports outside of Brazil,” Perez-Andrade said. “AFLG will assist in that process, therefore taking Quimatec to the next level of international expansion.”