LatAm List – Colony Capital, an international investment firm based in the United States, recently announced that they would invest $5B into the Latin American market over the next 2-3 years. The company is run by Thomas J. Barrack Jr. and has been estimated to manage over $30B in investments worldwide, focused heavily on real estate and private equity.
In a statement to El Financiero, Miguel Ángel Olea, the director of Colony’s Latin American fund, Colony Latam Partners, explained that almost half the fund would be invested directly in Mexico. He provided the following breakdown of the fund: $1B for private equity, $3B for projects in Pacific Alliance countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru), $500M for debt deals, and $500M for clean energy projects.
The firm is especially interested in investing in the energy sector, focusing on small and medium enterprises in niche sectors with limited competition. They will also invest in consumer industries, having previously pursued deals in casinos and real estate in the US and abroad.
“65% of the GDP of Latin American countries in the Pacific Alliance comes from private consumption and the region is characterized by a growing middle class with a demographic bonus that will represent 75% of the population in 2030,” said Colony Capital in an interview with El Financiero.
Barrack, a senior advisor for Donald Trump during the presidential election, mentioned that he has been analyzing investment opportunities in Mexico for several years. This investment announcement comes just a few months after Softbank launched their $5B Latin American Innovation Fund, the largest investment the region had ever seen.
Read more in El Financiero and Wall Street Journal.
