Acquisitions in Colombia

Ecopetrol S.A. closed a transaction with Statkraft European Wind and Solar Holding AS to acquire one company managing Statkraft’s renewables portfolio in Colombia and six special purpose entities that own solar projects totaling approximately 0.6 GW. The purchase price was USD 157.5 million, and the assets were previously held via Statkraft subsidiaries Enerfín Sociedad de Energía S.L.U and Enerfin Enervento Exterior S.L. Additional closings for three wind-project SPVs (~0.7 GW) remain pending satisfaction of conditions.

Chariot & Castle Seguros, operating in Colombia as Grupo ilao, completed the acquisitions of 21 property and casualty insurance brokerages across seven cities over the past two years, forming one of the top five insurance brokerages in Colombia. To support the consolidation strategy and future acquisitions, the company raised over $30 million in debt and equity from a consortium led by JP Conte’s Lupine Crest Capital and investor Dennis Chookaszian. Transaction terms were not disclosed.

Sun Valley Investments AG successfully completed a public offer (OPA) to purchase common shares of Mineros S.A. through the Colombia Securities Exchange at COP 5,500 per share, acquiring 23,851,918 shares for total consideration of COP 131,185,549,000 (approximately CAD $44.9 million). Following the transaction, Sun Valley increased its ownership in Mineros from 57.42% to approximately 65.38% of the company’s issued and outstanding common shares.

Advent International acquired a majority stake in Siesa, the largest independent ERP provider in Colombia. The stake was purchased from Siesint Holdings and former Siesa employees, while Siesa’s co-founder will remain a minority shareholder; financial terms were not disclosed.

Nimble Gravity LLC completed the acquisition of iGerencia, a Colombia-based data consultancy specializing in AI, machine learning, process automation, data engineering, and data analytics. The deal expands Nimble Gravity’s Data & AI capabilities and strengthens its regional presence across Colombia, Central America, and the Caribbean, adding approximately 60 data professionals.

ACON Investments acquired a controlling (majority) stake in Rymel, one of Colombia’s largest manufacturers of electricity distribution transformers. Rymel is headquartered in Medellín and exports across Latin America while expanding into the United States; financial terms were not disclosed. Founder Jaime Cardona and his family will retain an ownership interest, with co-investment from ACON limited partners including DEG, FMO, and Proparco.

Eurofins Scientific announced the completion of its acquisition of Labormar, a testing laboratory headquartered in Barranquilla, Colombia. Rebranded as Eurofins Labormar, the deal strengthens Eurofins’ food and feed, environmental, cosmetic, and pharmacological testing capabilities and expands its presence in Latin America, particularly in Colombia.

Teamcore, a retail execution technology platform backed by Accel-KKR, has closed the acquisition of Grupo BIT, a Colombian business intelligence provider focused on traditional retail channels. The deal expands Teamcore’s footprint in Colombia and strengthens its ability to offer unified end-to-end retail visibility across modern and traditional channels in Latin America.

GFT Technologies SE has agreed to acquire 100% of Colombia-based Sophos Solutions S.A.S. from private equity firm Advent International. The deal expands GFT’s core banking IT services capabilities and Latin American footprint and is expected to close in early February 2024.

ACON Investments completed the sale of its interest in Vitalis S.A.C.I. and its affiliates to Mexican pharmaceutical company Laboratorios Sanfer. Vitalis is a Bogotá, Colombia-based manufacturer and wholesaler of injectable pharmaceuticals distributed across Latin America; financial terms were not disclosed.

H.I.G. Capital-backed Grupo Ransa (Ransa) has completed a merger with Transportes Centroamericanos del Futuro (TCF). The combination creates an expanded end-to-end logistics platform in Latin America, integrating port, warehousing, and land freight transportation capabilities across multiple countries.

10Pearls, a digital transformation company, has acquired Oiga Technologies, a high-tech product development firm headquartered in Colombia. The deal expands 10Pearls’ presence in Latin America and strengthens its capabilities in emerging technologies including AI/ML, big data, and blockchain.

Emergent Cold Latin America (Emergent LatAm) announced the acquisition of Frigorifico Metropolitano (Frigometro), the leading cold storage operator in Colombia. The deal marks Emergent LatAm’s entry into Colombia and expands its refrigerated storage and value-added logistics footprint across Latin America, with Frigometro’s management team remaining in place.

H.I.G. Capital portfolio company Nadir Figueiredo S.A. completed the acquisition of Cristar Tabletop S.A.S. from Owens Illinois (O-I Glass Inc). Cristar, a leading glass tableware producer in the Andean region based in Buga, Colombia, expands Nadir’s production capacity and international footprint across Latin America and beyond.

Waterlogic, a global designer and provider of purified drinking water dispensers, has acquired Colombia-based Aquamaq to expand its operations and customer reach in the Colombian point-of-use water dispense market. Aquamaq, founded in 2002 and headquartered in Bogota, brings a nationwide customer base across 131 cities and towns. The deal is part of Waterlogic’s buy-and-build strategy under its private equity owner Castik Capital (which acquired Waterlogic in 2015).

ACON Investments L.L.C., through ACON Latin America Opportunities Fund V and in partnership with certain limited partners as co-investors, completed the acquisition of the companies comprising Vitalis Group. Vitalis is a manufacturer and wholesaler of generic injectable pharmaceuticals with production facilities in Colombia and Mexico and sales across Latin America and beyond. Financial terms were not disclosed.

eSource Capital Group ("eSource") acquired a controlling interest in Daxos S.A.S, a cloud-focused software development company supporting digital transformation initiatives. The acquisition is intended to expand eSource’s cloud technology offerings (e.g., connectors, applications, middleware, and add-ons leveraging microservices and APIs) across the Americas.

Waterlogic acquired Hidrospot, a Colombia-based point-of-use drinking water dispenser company headquartered in Bogotá. The deal supports Waterlogic’s growth ambitions in Colombia and broader Latin America and is part of its buy-and-build strategy under ownership by funds managed by Castik Capital.

Perficient, Inc. acquired Productora de Software S.A.S. (PSL), a nearshore software development company headquartered in Medellín, Colombia with additional locations in Bogotá and Cali. The deal expands Perficient’s global delivery capabilities and establishes a stronger Latin American delivery presence, adding more than 600 professionals; the acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted EPS.

H.I.G. Capital, LLC completed a strategic investment in Digital Ware S.A., a leading independent software supplier in Colombia. Headquartered in Bogotá, Digital Ware develops and sells ERP and human capital management (HCM) software, hospital information systems, and business process management (BPM) applications, and the partnership is intended to support the company’s growth and regional expansion.

Siigo, a leading Colombian ERP and accounting software provider, has acquired Ilimitada, a Medellín-based regional market leader. The combination is intended to strengthen Siigo’s position in the Medellín region and consolidate its national leadership while accelerating cloud product development for SMBs and accountants. Accel-KKR, which invested in Siigo in 2017, is supporting Siigo’s ongoing M&A-driven growth strategy.