Braskem control deal boosts 2025 volumes to R$50.1bn as IPO window remains shut
Driven by the transaction that transferred control of Braskem to restructuring-focused asset manager IG4, private equity funds increased allocations in 2025, even as exit routes remained weak with another year of a virtually closed IPO market on Brazil’s stock exchange.
In total, 89 investments were completed last year, reaching R$50.1 billion, data from the Brazilian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (Abvcap) shared with Valor show. A year earlier, there were 72 transactions totaling R$13.3 billion.
The Braskem deal, under which IG4 will acquire shares held by creditor banks, is still pending approval from Brazil’s antitrust authority, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade).
The transaction skews the data, accounting for roughly R$20 billion of the total. Even excluding the deal, however, investment volume more than doubled last year.
Limited exits
On the divestment side, the narrow IPO window curbed stake sales. In 2025, divestments totaled R$9.42 billion, close to the R$10 billion seen in 2024, a year that was already considered weak.
Last year, block trades emerged as an alternative exit route, though limited to already listed companies. The strategy was used, for example, by CPP to sell stakes in shopping mall operator Allos and fashion retail group Azzas, and more recently by Pátria Investimentos in the sale of its stake in gym chain Smart Fit.
Beyond Braskem, another major private equity deal was the sale of data center company OData to U.S. asset manager BlackRock and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX. A consortium of funds acquired education group Salta in another notable 2025 transaction.
The acquisition of corporate travel agency Voll by Warburg Pincus and the purchase of transmission lines from EDP by Actis were also among last year’s key deals.
Outlook for 2026
Industry executives expect a more favorable environment for divestments in 2026, supported by improved asset prices and stronger market conditions, as well as renewed foreign interest driven by global portfolio rotation.
As funds sell assets, they gain more room to raise fresh capital. The prospect of lower interest rates also supports this view.
Priscila Rodrigues, president of Abvcap, said funds with dry powder seized buying opportunities, but difficulties in exiting investments have hurt fundraising.
She noted that private equity funds remain active in Brazil because their focus, beyond being long term, is more attentive to “micro issues.” More recently, she said, the temperature gauge has shown an increase in negotiations for new investments, including more due diligence processes.
Rodrigues added that the “special situations” strategy has gained traction during years of high interest rates. The Braskem transaction itself fits that profile.
For this year, she sees a trend toward more deals but stressed that 2026 is a “shorter year,” due to both the World Cup and Brazil’s election calendar.
Focus on ‘micro’
Bruno Maimone, head of Brazil operations at Warburg Pincus, said that this focus on the “micro” allowed the firm to post a strong year in the country, both in investments and exits. The strategy has been to tilt the portfolio toward technology and financial services companies. “At the micro level we were able to find good companies,” he said.
The firm’s main investment in 2025 was a R$700 million check into Voll. Its key divestment was the sale of its stake in Salta.
In 2026, the natural course will be for Warburg Pincus to focus on existing portfolio companies, especially after completing a major transaction, Maimone said. Even so, the firm will remain active. “We have capital to allocate and will look at new investments.”
Luis Felipe Cruz, a partner at Pátria Investimentos, said the sale of the Smart Fit stake this week closed a successful investment cycle. He sees a more positive environment for divestments, supported by improved sentiment toward Latin America and the expected decline in interest rates this year.
Anderson Brito, head of investment banking at UBS BB, said there have been many discussions involving both international and local funds. “They are very active,” he said.
For international fund managers, including large sovereign wealth funds, portfolio reallocation toward emerging markets has also become a relevant theme, which tends to benefit Brazilian assets.
“The environment of persistent uncertainty in developed markets has increased the weight of diversification,” he said.
*By Fernanda Guimarães — São Paulo
Source: Valor International
https://valorinternational.globo.com/