Brazil sees surge in dealmaking in July

M&A, private equity and venture capital deals in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru saw a turnaround in July over H1, boosted mainly by transactions in Brazil,

July registered a 491% year-on-year increase in the value of deals to US$26.5bn in those six countries, according to data from Transactional Track Record (TTR).

The value of the 1,116 transactions – 494 of which had a disclosed amount – in January-July increased 20% year-on-year to US$77.6bn.

Most of the turnaround is explained by the Brazilian market, which saw in January-July a 48% jump in the value of deals to US$44.9bn, compared to just US$21.4bn in H1.

The Brazilian technology sector led the recovery with 102 transactions in January-July (up 36%) followed by financial services and retail and distribution with 64 and 50 transactions, up 18.5% and 19% respectively year-on-year.

Argentina, Chile and Colombia also posted positive performances in January-July with 515%, 162% and 125% increases in deal value to US$7.1bn, US$12.8bn and US$6.9bn, respectively.

In contrast, accumulated deal value in January-July in Mexico and Peru dropped 24% and 50% to US$17.3bn and US$2.3bn.

The largest deal in July was the sale in Brazil of CPFL Energia, the renewable energy subsidiary of Bonaire Participações, which was bought by State Grid Corporation of China for US$5.3bn.