February 1997
Case
HBS Case Collection

Advent of Venture Capital in Latin America, The

Format:Print
| Pages:20

Abstract

Widely regarded as the leader in international private equity, Advent International is considering the establishment of a private equity fund in Latin America in 1996. Typically, Advent entered new private equity markets through the creation of multicountry regional funds, a strategy that had enabled the firm to gain global access without assuming too many country-specific risks. To date, the strategy had paid off handsomely. As Advent's managers consider the four most likely targets of a Latin American fund, however, they begin to wonder whether the multicountry approach is necessarily the best means for bringing investment capital to Latin America. Given the countries' varied records of political and economic uncertainty, might a country-specific fund or a series of country-specific funds be a superior approach? They also need to consider how to structure their new funds and whether to run them out of their Boston-based office or through a series of local joint ventures.