Dealmaking was down again in Latin America in the first quarter of the year, both in value and the number of deals, with Colombia being one of the few positives in the period, according to the latest report from TTR Data.

Overall, venture capital, private equity, M&As and asset acquisitions in Latin America fell by 22% in volume and 10% in aggregate value compared with the same period of 2023, according to TTR’s quarterly report.

Brazil remains the biggest M&A market in the region, leading in both deal volume and aggregate value.

In volume terms, Mexico ranked second in 1Q24, while Colombia and Chile were tied in third, followed by Argentina and then Peru, said TTR.

However, the positions were slightly different based on aggregate value, with Colombia in second place, followed by Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Peru, in that order. 

Colombia saw 61 deals in January-March, worth a combined US$2bn, down 2% and up 309% year-on-year, respectively. Meanwhile, there were 69 deals in Mexico in the period, worth a combined US$967mn.

In Brazil, for which a more detailed breakdown was provided, 376 transactions were recorded for a combined 40bn reais (US$7.2bn) for those deals with disclosed values, down 22% and 5.6% year-on-year, respectively.

The Internet, Software & IT Services sector was again the most active in the period, with a total of 79 transactions in Brazil, although that was a drop of 6% compared with the same period of 2023.

In second place was the Real Estate sector and third was Industry-Specific Software, accounting for 41 and 28 transactions in Brazil, respectively.

Also noted by TTR was that acquisitions in Brazil by US companies grew 2% in the period.

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Source: Business News Americas / BN Americas - Chile