The tough period for startups is not yet over, but with US$803mn raised in 78 rounds during July, that was the biggest funding volume for a month in the region so far this year, according to tracking by the SlingHub platform, in partnership with Itaú BBA.

The result, according to SlingHub, was still a year-on-year drop of 9%, but was the lowest in 2023, while showing “a remarkable 68% upswing from the previous month.” 

Fintechs, biotechs, energytechs and edtechs deals led the pack, while Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, in that order, saw the most funding rounds.

On the other hand, the pace of the M&A market slowed somewhat from the first few months of the year, with 17 deals in July, three less than the average so far this year. 

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In Brazil, consultancy PwC said that M&A transactions gained strength in the first half of 2023, recovering to pre-pandemic levels. With 610 transactions, the total surpassed the 395 reported in the same period of 2020, although that was still lower than in the same periods of 2021 (706 deals) and 2022 (807).

Accounting for 44.4% of the total, the tech sector was the most active in M&As in January-June, according to PwC.

Meanwhile, TTR Data and AON reported that funding rounds in the Latin American dealmaking market declined 23% year-on-year in the first half of 2023.

According to TTR, there were a total of 1,447 announced and closed transactions, with a total aggregate value of US$35.7bn, which was a 30% decrease.

Source: Business News Americas / BN Americas - Chile