Darby Latin American private credit vehicle hits $300m hard-cap

Darby Overseas Investments held the final close on its latest fund targeting investments throughout South America.

The Washington, DC-based firm announced that Darby Latin American Private Debt Fund III has reached its $300 million hard-cap. The fund will invest in mid-market companies in Latin America with a partial or majority of their revenue in US dollars, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The fund is agnostic about the industries in which it invests, this person added, but the firm’s past vehicles have invested in infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and logistics operations. Fund III will deploy capital in the form of senior secured debt with a loan size of up to $45 million with equity kicker upside.

The firm declined to comment.

The fund has already invested in three companies across Latin America: NEOgas, a regional natural gas distributor; Abengoa Peru, a transmission lines and substation operator; and San Victoriano, an agricultural company in Uruguay.

Among Fund III’s limited partners is Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets. The vehicle also had multiple repeat investors, according to its press release. Darby Latin American Private Mezzanine Fund I closed in 2001 with $196 million and Fund II closed in 2010 with $87 million.

This fund adds to the slowly growing interest in Latin America from global firms. There was $2 billion raised in funds devoted to the region through the first three quarters of this year, according to PDI data. During the same period in 2017, Latin America-focused funds raised $150 million.

Founded in 1994, Darby has invested in Latin America for over 23 years. Darby Overseas Investments is an alternative investment arm of Franklin Templeton Investments – a San Mateo-based investment firm with over $724 billion in assets under management. Franklin Templeton announced plans to acquire private credit manager Benefit Street Partners last week.