Lexington pushes further into LatAm with Brazil office

Lexington Partners, one of the largest firms in secondaries, is increasing its Latin American presence by opening of an office in Brazil.

The São Paulo office will be headed by Renato Weiss, according to a statement from the New York-headquartered firm. Weiss, who joined Lexington in 2016, was previously based its Santiago, Chile, office.

“We expect Brazil’s private equity industry will continue to evolve in the coming years and are pleased to establish a local base from which to engage directly with investors and high-quality managers,” said José Sosa del Valle, a partner and head of Latin America at the firm.

Investors in Brazil are increasing their allocation to international private equity, Sosa del Valle added.

The São Paulo office is the firm’s eighth office globally and its second in Latin America.

The damage wrought by covid-19 on Latin America’s capital markets could create a secondaries opportunity, Secondaries Investor reported last year. Funds of 2008-14 vintage – a period of strong inflows into the region’s private equity market – are being forced to consider options that would not have been deemed necessary six months ago, according to Renato Abissamra, a partner at Brazilian investment firm Spectra Investments.

At least 19 firms involved in secondaries have offices in Latin America, according to Secondaries Investor data. These include Altamar Capital Partners, Ardian, HarbourVest Partners, Pantheon, Partners Group and StepStone Group.