(La Republica) October 25, 2010 – Latinamerica Drilling Colombia S.A. (LATCO) is the first company to exit from the portfolio of investment fund Tribeca. The fund’s majority shareholder is entrepreneur Luc Gerard.

Three years after the creation of the fund, the exit of Latco will allow investors to obtain an internal rate of annual return of 50.23%.

Latco, which digs oil wells, was acquired by Advantage Energy SA, a subsidiary of Panamanian company Trajectory Oil & Gas.  Latco was the fifth investment made by Tribeca. It owns oil assets in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru.

To read the full article in Spanish, click here.

Tribeca Press Release:

Tribeca Announces Successful Sale of LATCO

(Tribeca) October 2010 – Tribeca Asset Management, managers of the Private Equity Fund Tribeca Fund I, announced the sale of Latinamerica Drilling Corporation – LATCO, attaining a high rate of return on the investment while still in the fund’s investment period.

LATCO will now form a part of Advantage Energy, S.A., a Panamanian company that is a subsidiary of Trayectoria Oil & Gas.

The sale of Tribeca’s ownership in LATCO means a significant return for the fund’s investors, given that it has produced an annual internal rate of return (IRR) of 50.23%.

Tribeca decided to enter negotiations after different companies demonstrated their interest in LATCO.  After a process of analysis the best choice was made that will result in benefits for the investors of Tribeca Fund I, FCP.

Tribeca also revealed that it will distribute earnings to its investors in the days to come. The other companies currently forming a part of the Fund continue to grow significantly and execute their expansion plans.

“There are no plans to sell these investments for the moment, but we have received unsolicited offers for some of them.  For now the decision has been to continue creating value.  Those companies are PetroLatina, Axede, OndadeMar, and Etiqueta Negra,” added Mr. Gerard.

About Tribeca Asset Management
Tribeca Asset Management, Professional Fund Manager, whose main shareholder is Luc Gerard, has the mission of identifying investment opportunities in companies with high growth potential through the acquisition of all or the majority of a company’s shares.  The company looks for the best investment opportunities in Latin America and especially in Colombia, offering excellent service to its investors and optimizing management in order to bring investments to their full potential. 

About Advantage
Advantage Energy S.A. (Panama), subsidiary of Trayectoria Oil y Gas S.A. (Panama), is the buyer of 100% of LATCO’s shares. Trayectoria Oil & Gas S.A. holds oil industry assets in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru. In Colombia, Trayectoria is an agglomeration of a group of companies with more than 28 years of experience providing specialized services to the petroleum industry through its subsidiary, Integral de Servicios Técnicos S.A. (IST). Initially, IST was founded as a provider of logistics and transportation for equipment, materials, supplies, and heavy cargo.  Over time it expanded its services into the branches of exploration, drilling, specialized well services, camp rentals, and management of petroleum projects. With this acquisition, the buyers will merge Advantage’s operations with IST.