Mexican PE Firm Raises $55 Million for Second Fund

WAMEX Private Equity Management has held a $55 million first close for its second fund, which will focus on mid-market opportunities in Mexico.

PRESS RELEASE

Local group WAMEX Private Equity Management (WAMEX) announced today the first closing of US$ 55 million for the Multinational Industrial Fund II (MIF II), its second private equity fund targeting investments in middle market companies based in Mexico. MIF II builds upon the experience of Multinational Industrial Fund (MIF I), a US$ 66 million fund that has made eight investments since 2003 and is now in its harvesting phase.

MIF II is the first private equity fund to access Mexico’s public markets, tapping domestic institutional investors such as pension funds. This was accomplished through an investment vehicle listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The vehicle will invest in parallel with a private limited partnership also managed by WAMEX.

“We are proud to finalize this closing under a difficult global funding environment. It is a vote of confidence for the opportunities available in the Mexican economy and for the Wamex growth-based value creation proposition,” said Ernesto Warnholtz, Senior Partner of WAMEX.

“We worked hard to design an innovative, viable structure that incorporates best-in-class governance and reporting standards in order to raise, for the first time in Mexico, significant domestic funds for private equity. This fundraise will be complemented by foreign investors in further closings,” said Jose Contreras, Partner. “Our pipeline has very promising opportunities in manufacturing and services, with a combination of minority and majority stakes. The Mexican economy offers attractive opportunities where we can play a significant and active role,” added Kurt Lipp, Partner.

“This public placement is key for the Mexican market as it effectively opens up an alternative asset class for domestic institutional investors. We worked closely with issuer and investors to take advantage of this window of opportunity for enhanced portfolio diversification and profitability,” said Ricardo Fernández of placement agent Credit Suisse.

Established in 1999, WAMEX Private Equity Management, with offices in Mexico City and representatives in Germany, has a team of five operating partners and additional support staff managing portfolio companies in major Mexican cities.