Aureos misses target

Mid-market private equity firm Aureos Capital has held the final close on its Aureos Latin America Fund (ALAF) on US$184m, missing its target of US$200m.

ALAF will make investments between US$2m and US$10m in small and mid-sized businesses in Mexico, Central America and the Andean region, including Columbia and Peru.

Chief executive officer of Aureos Advisors, Sev Vettivetpillai said: “Whilst Latin America has not been immune to the recent economic downturn, the emergence of a growing middle class makes this a highly attractive investment market. With investors reducing their appetite risk, we are delighted with the results of ALAF fundraising.”

ALAF has already made seven investments including Mexican IT solutions company Grupo MetroNet, office equipment company Docuformas, fleet management and leasing companies Analistas de Recursos Globales in Mexico and Renandes in Columbia, and most recently Peruvian fashion accessories retailer IasaCorp.

Investors in the fund include international and regional managers, pension funds, insurance companies and development finance institutions.

Aureos manages two other funds in Latin America. The Emerge Central America Growth Fund (US$21m) which invests in small enterprises in Central America and Aureos Central America Fund, a US$36m fund for investment in small and medium-sized enterprises in Central America which is already in divestment mode.