Search Fund · Latin America

Acquiring exceptional businesses in Colombia

A search fund formed to acquire and operate a single, high-quality mid-sized business in Colombia – then grow it as owner-operators over a 5–7 year hold.

Investor Information Our Thesis
Our Thesis

A disciplined approach to acquiring Colombia's finest operators

Latin America represents one of the most compelling untapped markets for the search fund model. Colombia's growing middle class, improving institutional environment, and fragmented SME landscape create a unique window of opportunity for experienced operators.

We focus on profitable, established businesses with defensible competitive positions – where skilled ownership can unlock meaningful value creation over a 5–7 year horizon.

01
US PE is overcrowded and underdelivering
  • Too much capital is chasing too few high-quality businesses; entry multiples are at historic highs and the best companies are already PE-owned and optimized
  • US PE increasingly relies on continuation vehicles, unable to sell assets to make the profits they need
  • US PE has returned just 5.8% over 2022–25, versus 11.6% for the S&P 500
02
Colombian SMEs are undervalued
  • A large runway exists in LATAM to professionalize founder-run firms using proven US private-equity operating playbooks
  • LATAM is highly fragmented, creating attractive roll-up paths
  • Companies trade at 3–6× EBITDA versus 7–12× in the US
03
Search funds fit Colombia
  • The market is too fragmented for traditional PE to enter LATAM efficiently; company sizes are too small
  • Search funds are perfect entry vehicles for acquiring and rolling up LATAM's SMEs
  • ~50% average IRR for LATAM search funds in 2025, and 60+ acquisitions completed since 2008
04
The LATAM economy is growing – and Colombia leads
  • LATAM GDP is forecast to outpace the US and most Western economies
  • Colombia is the crown jewel of the region: political stability, strong ties to the US, a booming middle class, and an economy diversified across tourism, agriculture and energy
3–6×
Entry EBITDA multiples in Colombia (vs. 7–12× in the US)
<0.1%
Private-equity penetration as a share of GDP (vs. 2–3% in the US)
~70%
Of Colombian SMEs are founder-owned and 20+ years old
~28%
Average IRR on completed LATAM search-fund deals (last 15 years)
Target Sectors

Where we focus our search

Fragmented markets with strong unit economics and a clear path to consolidation.

01
Clinical Laboratories
Recurring B2B contracts with insurers and EPS, underpinned by ~97% national health coverage that drives steady volume
02
Engineering Services
Architecture, civil, MEP and oil & gas firms – asset-light businesses with multi-year demand tailwinds, including the 13 'Roads for Peace' corridors funded for 2026–35
03
Industrial Linen & Laundry
Commercial laundry and linen supply for hospitality, healthcare, and industrial clients, with predictable revenue, high switching costs, and significant local market fragmentation
04
Heavy Equipment Rentals
Serving construction, industrial and oil & gas, where owned fleets act as hard collateral for leverage and peso devaluation steadily tips demand toward rentals over outright capex
05
Specialty Medical Practices
The largest healthcare sub-sector – spanning plastics, cardiology, oncology and fertility – with structural growth driven by an aging population and defensible patient bases
06
Specialty Chemicals & Pharma
Niche chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers with proprietary formulations, regulatory moats, and established customer relationships in industrial and healthcare end markets
Roll-up opportunity Beyond meeting our core criteria, these industries are highly fragmented – creating room to make follow-on acquisitions once we secure an anchor.
The Case

Why now. Why LATAM. Why us.

01
Early-stage inflection LATAM's SME middle market is at an early-stage inflection – the same opportunity US search funds had in the 2010s
02
A structural discount Entry multiples run 40–50% below US comparables for equivalent business quality
03
More room to improve Operational-improvement potential is higher in under-professionalized businesses
04
A proven model 60+ search-fund deals completed in LATAM, with ~50% average IRR for investors in 2025
05
Operators, not just analysts Two principals who pair due-diligence expertise with real, on-the-ground operating experience
The Team

Two skill sets. One team.

Most operators come from one lane – we combine both. Global consulting and M&A judgment paired with on-the-ground Colombian operating experience, with no ramp-up.

Louis Abrassard
Louis Abrassard
Co-Founder · Principal
  • BA, Yale
  • Consultant at Bain & Company across the private-equity and strategy practices, with 40+ PE diligences completed on both the buy-side and sell-side
  • Former D1 heavyweight crew (2× national champion)
  • Spanish and French speaker; Cuban heritage
Mateo Morales
Mateo Morales
Co-Founder · Principal
  • MBA, MIT Sloan · BS, Purdue
  • Consultant at Bain & Company; previously Capgemini Invent
  • 4+ years operating in Colombia and a board member of a 200-person, $30M Colombian tire retailer, with a deep local network across advisors, bankers and intermediaries
  • Born and raised in Colombia; native Spanish, fluent Portuguese and French
60+
Due diligences completed across countries and industries
12 yrs
Of combined operating experience
US + LATAM
Dual-market coverage bridging investors and local sellers
Contact

Let's start a conversation

Whether you're a potential investor, a business owner considering your next chapter, or an advisor – we'd like to hear from you.

Headquarters
Boston, MA & Bogotá, Colombia