September 2023
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  1. Public Company Transactions in Mexico
  2. Private Company Transactions in Mexico
  3. Private Equity Transactions
  4. Venture Capital Transactions
  5. Asset Purchases
  6. Other International News
  7. Analysis of Mergers and Acquisitions in Mexico
  8. Analysis of Venture Capital Transactions in Mexico
  9. Subscription
Highlights of the month
This month we highlight the acquisition of the Spanish company Baldocer, one of the leading companies in the ceramics sector in Spain, by the Monterrey-based Lamosa group. The transaction amounted to USD $450.2 million, making it the fifth largest of this year.

September 2023 stood out for M&A activity in the financial sector, with a total of 13 transactions, including 8 acquisitions and 5 venture capital investments. Out of the 13 transactions, 12 involved fintech companies, with 7 in M&A deals and 5 in VC investments.

In recent months, financial companies that received funding from VCs have engaged in acquisition deals with the goal of achieving scale and profitability. Mexican fintech buyers in September acquired 2 SOFIPOs, one bank (Banco Autofin), and one SOFOM. Over the past few years, fintech companies have remained active in the M&A market, seeking to acquire banking or SOFIPO licenses in order to gain access to cheaper funding than what traditional banks or debt funds tend to offer; this applies to the first 3 transactions. In the case of the SOFOM deal, we observe the opposite, as it concerns SOFIPO (in this case FINSUS) that is transforming into fintech platform. Throughout the year, FINSUS has carried out two acquisitions of digital platforms: earlier in the year, it acquired Distrito Pyme, which offers digital loans, and now, with LlaveCredit, it aims to enter the real estate loans market.
 
During the month of September, there was a slowdown in the M&A activity in the country, with a 21% drop in the number of transactions and an 18% drop in terms of the amount published. 
1.- Public Company Transactions in Mexico
Mexican manufacturer of ceramics, wall tiles, and other construction materials, Lamosa, acquired Baldocer, one of Spain's leading companies in the ceramics sector, for USD $450.2 million.
Mexicana de Franquicias, a Mexican restaurant chain operator, acquired the Spanish restaurant chain OleMole and its 6 locations from Alsea Iberia, the European arm of Mexican casual dining restaurant operator Alsea.
Mexican multinational building material company CEMEX acquired Kiesel, a German mortars and adhesives manufacturer. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Mexico's largest trucking company Traxion, carried out a follow-on equity offering raising USD $300 million on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), representing approximately 30% of the company's outstanding shares. Proceeds will be used for organic expansion (taking advantage of opportunities generated by nearshoring), to refinance liabilities, and for acquisitions - inorganic growth - related to the relocation of supply chains and cross-border logistics.
2.- Private Company Transactions in Mexico
Kapital Mexico, Mexican fintech platform focused on SMEs, announced a USD $50 million investment which included the purchase and a capital injection in Banco Autofin Mexico. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Kolors, a Mexican bus lines startup, acquired the Mexican vanpooling platform Urbvan for USD $12 million from Dubai-based Swvl. The deal will enable Kolors to connect business travelers between and within cities to offices, factories, and industrial parks. 
Assak, Ugandan asset financing company specialized in vehicles for delivery and ridesharing platforms, acquired the Mexican operations of FlexClub, a Dutch company specialized in renting cars to ridesharing platform drivers.  
Fondeadora, a Mexican fintech that specializes in debit cards, announced the acquisition of SOFIPO Apoyo Multiple. The identity of the selling party and the amount of the transaction were not disclosed. 
Mexican fintech platform Stori obtained regulatory approval to acquire the SOFIPO MasCaja. The identity of the selling party and the amount of the transaction have not been disclosed.
SOFIPO Finsus acquired the SOFOM LlaveCredit, which grants advance loans on home sales. 
Volex, British manufacturer of critical data and power transmission products, acquired the Turkish company Murat Ticaret. The transaction included the Mexican company MWSMX- Murat Wiring Systems de Mexico.
RapidAuto, a Mexican used car loans platform, acquired the automotive leasing portfolio CR-Fact, a subsidiary of Credito Real, a non-bank lender that began a dissolution and liquidation process last year.
Tala, a U.S.-based microcredit startup, acquired Mexico's Jefa, a digital bank for women that offers access to savings accounts, loans, insurance, and debit and credit cards.
JC & Holding, a Latin American investor and a subsidiary of an unknown Mexican pharmaceutical group, acquired Farmalogica, a Colombian pharmaceutical laboratory.
Flat.mx, a Mexican startup that aims to be a housing 'superapp' by offering financing, valuation, renovation, and legal services, acquired the Mexican mortgage comparison platform Hipoteca Genial.  
Colombian fintech Puntored acquired Gestopago, a Mexican startup that manages a payments platform.
Telstar, a Spanish manufacturer of high-tech equipment for life sciences and health, acquired the 51% it did not already own of Telstar Mexico from Bicor Technologies, taking control of 100% of the company.
3.- Private Equity Transactions
Glisco Partners, a Mexican private equity firm, sold its stake in the Grupo Hunan restaurant chain to the company's controlling shareholders for USD $36.8 million.
4.- Venture Capital Transactions
Kapital Mexico, Mexican fintech platform focused on SMEs, received a USD $40 million investment from Accial Capital. 
The Mexican neobank albo, obtained a USD $40 million investment in a round led by Morpheus Ventures and in which Valar Ventures and Nazca (Mexico), among others, also participated.
Mundi, a Mexican foreign exchange fintech platform, raised USD $15 million in a Series A-2 investment round led by Haymaker Ventures, in which Union Square Ventures, GMO Ventures, Upper90, Colibri Ventures, Base10, Asymmetric Capital Partners, Gaingels, Mana Ventures and GSBackers also participated.
Electric Era, a U.S.-based developer of EV fast charging technology, received a Series A investment round for USD $13 million led by HSBC Ventures and in which SQM Industrial and Proeza Ventures (Mexico) also participated.
Erudit AI, an AI HR platform based out in the U.S., closed a USD $10 million investment round by Conexo Ventures, Athos Capital, IGNIA Partners (Mexico), Fondo Bolsa Social and True Blue Partners.
Syscap, a Mexican fintech platform, received a USD $2.3 million investment round led by Wollef (Mexico), and in which Redwood Ventures, Melek Capital, 500 LatAm, and Angel Hub Ventures also participated. 
Allie Systems, a Mexican startup that develops a workflow automation software to digitize production processes, raised a USD $2.3 million investment round from Caravela Capital and other undisclosed investors.
KredFeed, a Mexican digital factoring platform, raised an undisclosed amount of investment from Carabela.
Miche Mix, a Mexican producer of ready-to-serve michelada mixes, raised an undisclosed amount of investment from Santatera Capital.
Plata, a Mexican fintech that offers credit cards, raised an undisclosed amount of investment from Audeo Ventures.
Ukma, a Mexican manufacturer of high-quality sculptures at fair prices, raised an undisclosed amount of initial investment in a deal led by CANVAS Partners.
5.- Asset Purchases
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), a Mexican airport manager that operates 12 airports in Mexico and 2 in Jamaica, purchased a real estate company in Tijuana for USD $35.4 million. The purchase concerned 26 hectares of land in the Tijuana airport area.       
Mexican financial group Mifel acquired a real estate portfolio located in Mexico City from hospital chain Medica Sur for USD $12.5 million. 
6.- Other International News
Cisco Systems announced the purchase of cybersecurity company Splunk for USD $28 billion. The deal would represent the largest transaction in its history.
Groupe Artémis, the luxury brand conglomerate owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault, announced the purchase of a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency, Hollywood's leading talent agency, from private equity firm TPG Inc. for $7 billion.
American manufacturer of food and beverage products JM Smucker acquired Hostess, the snack cake company behind Twinkies and Ding Dongs, for $5.6 billion.
U.S. private equity firm 777 Partners acquired Premier League team Everton FC for USD $700 million.
Swiss food and beverage company Nestlé announced the acquisition of the Brazilian chocolate brand Kopenhagen for USD $602.8 million. The purchase also includes Brasil Cacau, another chocolate brand owned by the firm.
Guatemalan agribusiness group Grupo Hame acquired AGROKASA, a leading Peruvian agricultural producer and exporter of avocados, asparagus, grapes, and blueberries. Investment banking firms Macroinvest (Peru) and RIóN (Mexico) acted as financial advisors to Grupo Hame.
7.- Analysis of Mergers and Acquisitions in Mexico
Volume and Value of Transactions 2022 - 2023
During September 2023, 19 M&A transactions were registered in Mexico, 5 fewer than the 24 published in the same month of the previous year. The amount disclosed went from USD $725 million to USD $597 million, a 17.7% decrease. On the other hand, the number of cumulative transactions as of September of this year was 4.4% lower than in the same period last year, going from 181 to 173 operations. In terms of total accumulated value, there was a 71.6% increase, going from USD $9.2 billion to USD $15.7 billion. 
Transactions in Mexico according to Sector
During the ninth month of 2023, the most active sector was Financial Services with 8 transactions, 42% of the total number of deals reported. In terms of cumulative volume, companies in the Industry/Manufacturing & Engineering sector dominated with 39 transactions, 23% of total. 
Transactions in Mexico according to the Origin of the Buyer and the Seller
In September 2023, in terms of number of transactions, Mexican entities with Mexican counterparties predominated with 9 transactions, representing 47% of total. In terms of the amount disclosed, transactions involving Mexican companies acquiring foreign counterparties stood out with USD $462 million, 77% of the total amount disclosed. 
Year-to-date, foreign companies acquiring Mexican counterparties have accumulated 55 transactions, 32% of total. The same can be seen in terms of the amount disclosed, with USD $7.9 billion, 50% of the total. 
8.- Analysis of Venture Capital Transactions in Mexico
During September 2023, 11 Venture Capital deals were registered in Mexico, 3 more than those observed a year earlier. In terms of the YTD activity, a 26.7% drop was recorded (85 vs. 116). Startups in Mexico raised a total of USD $100 million in September, a 41.0% increase vs. September 2022. However, YTD there has been a 65.4% drop, going from USD $1.4billion to USD $486 million.
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The editor is not responsible for the damages caused by the use of the information included. The information included in this newsletter was gathered from public sources (América Economía, Bloomberg, El Economista, El Financiero, El Excelsior, El Universal, Sentido Comun, Reforma, El Norte, The Wall Street Journal, Mergermarket, Business Week, New York Times, Expansión y CNN / Expansion, DealWatch, LatinLawyer, among others) and direct sources of RIoN M&A and it is subject to the accuracy and truthfulness of them. 
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