Advent Mulls Buying Lafarge, Holcim Brazil Assets With New Fund

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) — Advent International Corp., the Boston-based private-equity fund with $34 billion under management, is considering buying some of the assets that Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd. are selling in Brazil.

Advent could make the offer with other buyout funds using a new $2.1 billion Latin America fund it announced today, Juan Pablo Zucchini, a managing partner, said in a phone interview in Sao Paulo.

Lafarge and Holcim are selling assets to preempt regulatory objections to their planned merger, which would create a global cement giant with about $40 billion in annual revenue. The companies said Aug. 4 they will sell three cement plants, two grinding stations and a ready-mix plant, all located in southeastern Brazil. Their expected value is about $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter said Sept. 23.

Cementos Argos SA, the Colombian cement and concrete producer, is among companies also weighing a bid, the people said.

Holcim, based in Jona, Switzerland, and Paris-based Lafarge have proposed the divestitures to Brazil’s antitrust authority, known as CADE, which has to approve any sale.

In announcing the new fund for Latin America, Advent said it will prioritize businesses in finance, retail, health care and infrastructure. The buyout company intends to invest as much as $630 million in Latin America in six months, mainly in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, Zucchini said.

–With assistance from Christine Jenkins in Bogota.

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