AI Issue 4 2018 - John Harrison & Company

Acquisition International - Issue 4 2018 47 A Pioneer Private Equity Firm in the Andean Region capabilities that can be leveraged to establish leading positions within large and dynamic sectors. Moreover, these companies can often be acquired for attractive prices relative to their growth potential due to the challenges associated with analysing and acquiring them and the level of involvement that is generally required to help them reach their full potential. At the same time, once such companies achieve sufficient scale and develop professional management and governance structures, they have the potential to represent attractive acquisition targets to both local and multinational strategic buyers who are seeking to enter and/or consolidate high-growth markets across Latin America. Crucial to its success, Altra’s disciplined, value-oriented investment strategy takes into consideration and seeks to capitalise on the challenges associated with acquiring, managing, and exiting private equity investments in the region. Altra leverages its team’s unique combination of skills and experience to proactively target situations that, due to their complexity, are expected to provide opportunities to acquire high potential businesses for attractive prices. Upon making an investment, Altra seeks to convert its expertise into equity value by making long-term, sustainable improvements to its portfolio companies’ operations and strategic management, as opposed to relying heavily on financial engineering or leverage. Ultimately, contributing to its success, Altra’s investment strategy seeks to maximise returns while mitigating risk by: (i) targeting midcap businesses that possess unique capabilities and sustainable competitive advantages; (ii) acquiring companies that have significant potential for improved profitability and growth; (iii) strictly adhering to a value-oriented approach to acquisition pricing and a prudent approach to leverage; (iv) recruiting, incentivising, and partnering with talented management teams to identify and deploy detailed operational, financial, and strategic initiatives designed to help portfolio companies reach their full potential; (v) acquiring control or “effective control” positions; and (vi) consistently developing well- defined exit strategies prior to investing.