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Alta Growth Capital and IFC announce a US$9.8 million co-investment in Lottus Education
México City, México, August 5th, 2021. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group, announced a co-investment of US$9.8 million in Lottus Education, a leading higher education group with a diversified portfolio of universities in México, along with Alta Growth Capital, a Private Equity Fund oriented to the development of middle-market companies and existing shareholder of Lottus Education.
The co-investment will contribute to the objective of improving the quality of education in México, where 31 percent of businesses identify inadequately educated workforce as a major constraint. Founded in 2015, Lottus Education provides quality education to low and middle-income students through its three assets for a total of 40,000 students: Universidad Tres Culturas (UTC), Universidad Latinoamericana (ULA) and Colegio Indoamericano.
IFC’s investment alongside Alta Growth Capital and existing Lottus Education investors will help Lottus Education to make strategic purchases in the sector as well as expanding its territorial coverage and adding more than 30,000 students to its portfolio. IFC will also support Lottus Education through the Digital For Tertiary Education Program (D4TEP), a program created with Deloitte Consulting to help universities in the development, implementation and financing of their digital transformation. This investment will have a direct impact for the technological evolution of Lottus Education and the digital journey of its students.
Mario Gonzalez, CFO of Lottus Education, said: “Our mission and obsession is to revolutionize the sector by fostering the access to good education and through the assurance of high-quality employment to our students. This is a terrific milestone for Lottus Education. IFC will contribute with resources to accelerate the digital transformation of our group. This investment also demonstrates the strong support of the international investment community in the education sector. We are thrilled to join forces with the IFC and get Alta’s continuous support on this journey.”
Elena Sterlin, IFC’s Senior Manager for Global Health and Education, stated: “Lottus Education accomplishes its quality standards and breadth of curriculum at a remarkably low cost to its students: tuition rates at its schools are 30-50 percent below rates of competitors. Such low tuition rates make education more accessible for low and low-middle income students in a country where only two percent of students from the poorest quintile are enrolled in tertiary institutions”.
Erik Carlberg, Managing Director of Alta Growth Capital, highlighted, “Even with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lottus’s management team redoubled efforts to support the student experience through an improved virtual platform and is still expanding its education platform through strategic acquisitions. We are very excited about this follow-on investment and eager to continue supporting Lottus Education on its spectacular growth path.”
Demand for education is soaring. The number of higher education students is projected to more than double by 2025. Most of this growth will come from the emerging markets. Meanwhile, youth unemployment continues to grow globally, even as employers report difficulty in finding workers with the right skills. IFC is strongly committed to increasing the access of the most vulnerable sectors to high quality education.
About Lottus Education:
Founded in 2015, Lottus Education is a tech powered leading consolidation platform of higher education in Mexico. Through its operating brands, Lottus Education offers high-school, undergraduate and graduate educational programs and services, online and on-campus in Mexico. Lottus Education has close to 50,000 enrolled students, including over 20,000 digital students, nationwide
About Alta Capital Growth:
Alta Growth Capital is a private equity fund that invests in middle-market companies operating in Mexico. It targets sectors benefiting from the rising domestic consumption of goods and services in the Mexican market, including industries such as consumer goods, retail, financial services, housing, healthcare, education, entertainment, and selective manufacturing and industrial sectors.
The team at Alta Growth Capital is comprised of Mexican and U.S. nationals with deep networks and significant business experience, both operating and investing in companies, bringing these resources to bear on each portfolio company to create the best possible outcomes for all parties involved.
About IFC:
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2020, we invested $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org
Alta Growth Capital closes Fund III with $150 million
Mexico City, Mexico (October 5, 2020) – Alta Growth Capital (“Alta”) announced today that it has completed a final close of Alta Growth Capital, Mexico Fund III, L.P. (“AGC Fund III”) with $150 million in commitments. In spite of a very challenging fundraising environment in the region, AGC Fund III achieved the same level of commitments as its prior fund. The Fund was supported by a diverse group of Mexican and international limited partners with the majority of the capital coming from outside of Latin America.
“At a time of tremendous economic and social uncertainty, we’re grateful for the support of our returning limited partners and for the trust placed in us by our new investors,” said Scott McDonough, Managing Director. “We’ve shown an ability to generate positive results over multiple fund cycles and varying economic conditions, and we look forward to deploying more capital at a time when we are seeing very interesting investment opportunities in our region.”
“Current events have reduced the availability of capital in Mexico and Latin America even more than before,” added Javier G. Teruel, Chairman of Alta Growth Capital. “With our team and strategy, we are well positioned to help fill this capital gap and achieve very good returns while, at the same time, have a positive impact by generating greater economic opportunity.”
Venable LLP acted as primary fund formation counsel for AGC Fund III. Ortiz, Sosa y Asociados, SC acted as Mexican tax counsel.
About Alta Growth Capital (www.altagc.com)
Alta Growth Capital, based in Mexico City, is one of the leading private equity funds investing in Latin America. With an investor base that includes U.S., Mexican and European institutions, Alta makes buyout and growth equity investments in small and medium-sized businesses that are poised to take advantage of the high growth opportunities in the Mexican and other Latin American markets. Financing for growth, whether equity or debt, can be difficult to obtain for companies in the Latin American lower middle market. Alta’s financing, along with its strategy to professionalize and institutionalize operations, provides opportunities for significant value creation in its portfolio companies.
Alta Growth Capital successfully completes partial exit in Amerimed
April 14, 2020, Mexico City – Alta Growth Capital (“AGC”) is pleased to announce that it recently partially exited its equity investment in Amerimed, a hospital chain specialized in providing high-quality healthcare services in key tourist destinations in Mexico, upon the successful sale of 25% of the shares in the Company to RAG Capital Partners (“RAG”), the majority shareholder of Amerimed. In addition, the transaction includes an agreement to sell AGC’s remaining equity stake in the Company to RAG at a future date to fully exit the Company.
Amerimed was founded in 1996 to meet the demand for international quality healthcare in tourist locations. The Company opened its first hospital in Puerto Vallarta in 1996, and later opened hospitals in Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, and San Jose de Los Cabos. In 2009, AGC acquired a substantial minority equity participation in Amerimed. In 2014, Amerimed sold its hospitals in Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and San Jose de Los Cabos, but the Company continues to operate hospitals in Cancun, Cozumel, and Playa del Carmen. Amerimed is currently a leader in providing international quality healthcare services in top tourist destinations in Mexico.
“Amerimed has played an important role in bringing full-service healthcare to popular tourist spots in Mexico. In this way, Amerimed makes travel to these areas safer for visitors,” said Rafael Payro, Managing Director of AGC. “At the same time, local residents are given an option for a higher level of health services as these areas grow in population.”
“During our time with Amerimed, we have been able to help the company grow and extend into new markets,” said Scott McDonough, Managing Director of AGC. “We are pleased to be able to exit this investment, but believe Amerimed will continue to serve an important role in these underserved communities.”
About Amerimed
Amerimed provides international quality healthcare services at Mexican tourist destinations through hospitals, clinics, and emergency facilities. After selling its Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta units during the fourth quarter of 2014, the Company currently operates hospitals in Cancun, Cozumel, and Playa del Carmen. Amerimed has institutional relations with foreign insurance companies, hotel operators and cruise lines to channel foreign patients, as well as institutional relations with national insurance companies, national healthcare institutions, and Mexican businesses.
Alta Growth Capital Receives Top Latin American Private Equity Deal Award
April 7, 2020, Mexico City – Alta Growth Capital (“AGC”), a leading private equity firm focused on growth investing in Latin America, recently received the LAVCA 2020 Private Equity Deal award for its investment in Fruehauf, a Mexico-based manufacturer of semi-trailers. A panel composed of judges from several international institutional investors, including development finance institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, and trusts, selected AGC’s Fruehauf investment as the best performing LATAM Private Equity deal of the year considering company transformation, IRR, EBITDA, governance, and, where relevant, social and environmental impact.
Fruehauf was a buyout deal in AGC’s Fund II that closed in 2015. AGC initially saw in Fruehauf a company with significant virtues, including positive cash flow generation and growth potential, opportunities for management and governance improvements, institutionalization and a reasonable entry valuation. The company is the Mexico operation and a legacy asset of the original Fruehauf Trailer Corporation that entered bankruptcy during the 1990’s. Fruehauf Trailer Corporation created the semi-trailer category and at one time was the leading and largest manufacturer of semi-trailers in the world.
With a new management team installed by AGC and a new growth orientation, Fruehauf saw a considerable expansion of its customer base, entered key markets, and generated significant cost efficiencies during its tenure as an AGC portfolio company. AGC exited the investment with the sale of Fruehauf to Mexican conglomerate Fultra in March 2019, less than four years after acquiring the company, having doubled both the company’s sales and EBITDA and successfully reentering the U.S. market following a 20-year absence. The deal highlights that the opportunities for growth in emerging markets are there when investors focus on under-served markets and on operational value-add that translates into long-term, sustainable shareholder value.
“We are very pleased to receive this award from LAVCA and for the recognition by the judges of our efforts to achieve outstanding results for all of our stakeholders,” said Scott McDonough, Managing Director of AGC. “We enjoyed very much being part of the amazing Fruehauf legacy and are happy that we were able to revive the Fruehauf brand in North America and bring it back to the U.S.”
“The Fruehauf outcome was the result of a tremendous effort by AGC and the company’s strengthened management team to reorient the company towards growth while making the operation more efficient and institutional,” said Javier Garcia-Teruel, Managing Director of AGC. “This investment shows that a disciplined and focused approach to private equity can be very successful in Mexico and Latin America, even under challenging economic conditions.”
About LAVCA
LAVCA is the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America, a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to supporting the growth of private capital in Latin America and the Caribbean. LAVCA’s membership is comprised of over 190 firms, from leading global investment firms active in the region and local fund managers to family offices, global sovereign wealth funds, corporate investors, and international pension plans. Member firms control assets in excess of US$65b, directed at capitalizing and growing Latin American businesses. LAVCA’s mission – to spur regional economic growth by advancing private capital investment – is accomplished through programs of research, networking forums, education and advocacy of sound public policy.
Read more at: LAVCA
Alta Growth Capital co-invests in Mexican manufacturer of heavy truck components
Alta Growth Capital and Northgate Capital, two leading private equity firms focused on growth investing in Latin America, have acquired a majority equity interest in USK Urresko Holding S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“USK”), a leading manufacturer serving the North American heavy truck industry. Further terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Erik Carlberg, Founding Partner of Alta Growth Capital, said: “Alta is excited to partner with the Aguirre family in a well-positioned market leader of steering components. The opportunities to create value and grow the business are exciting. We look forward to supporting Urresko’s impressive growth trajectory.”
Read more at Amexcap
Alta Growth Capital recognized as “Mexico Private Equity Firm of the Year 2019″
Global M&A Network recognized the achievements of successful dealmakers, legendary leaders, outstanding firms and the best-growth delivering transactions at the 11th Annual Americas M&A Atlas Awards Gala held last night at the Metropolitan Club of New York.
“We are delighted to honor eminent firms and top-performing dealmakers from the North and South Americas. Winners exemplify vision, tenacity, and excellence for executing transactions. We wish all the winners continued success.” Shanta Kumari, CEO and Global Group Editor, Global M&A Network.
Read more at: Global M&A Network
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