(Bloomberg) July 22, 2011 – Itau Unibanco Holding SA’s Kinea investment firm plans to invest 150 million reais ($96 million) of its private-equity fund by the first half of 2012 as a growing consumer market and infrastructure projects boost demand for capital.

Kinea has used the fund with total capital of 250 million reais to buy minority stakes in Unidas SA, a car-rental company, and in Grupo Multi, an education group. Sao Paulo-based Kinea aims to acquire between 30 percent and 50 percent of companies with strong growth prospects, Kinea Chief Executive Officer Marcio Verri said yesterday in a phone interview.

“We have a very interesting pipeline of possible deals in sectors in which Brazil has a competitive advantage,” Verri said.

Mid-market companies serving Brazil’s booming consumer sector and supplying services and material for infrastructure projects such as highways have benefited from an increase in private-equity investment in Latin America’s biggest economy.

Kinea plans to increase its team of 30 fund managers to keep up with demand, Verri said. He declined to provide details on the hiring plans.

Kinea, created in 2007 as an independent asset manager focused on hedge funds, real estate funds and private equity, has 2.5 billion reais in total assets under management, Verri said.

In June, through its private-equity fund and a fund created for the deal, Kinea invested 100 million reais in Brazilian car- rental unit Unidas SA, which is controlled by SAG Gest-Solucoes Automovel Globais SGPS SA (SVA), a Portuguese distributor of Volkswagen AG vehicles.

In November, Kinea bought a minority stake in Grupo Multi, an education group, for 200 million reais, also through its private equity fund and another fund specially created for the Multi investment. Grupo Multi owns the Wizard, Skill, Alps and Quatrum language-school brands.

On July 1, Kinea raised more than 200 million reais for a real-estate fund, increasing the fund’s total assets to 500 million reais.

By Adriana Brasileiro