RIO DE JANEIRO - Paul Capital, a private equity firm focused on secondary market transactions, has acquired 18.2 percent of a fund managed by the Brazilian technology venture capital firm Ideiasnet, paying 79 million reais ($40 million).
The purchase is the New York-based firm’s second asset in Brazil, according to Duncan Littlejohn, managing partner at Paul Capital.
The fund, known as FIP 1, is one of two funds managed by Rio de Janeiro-based Ideiasnet, and invests in companies in digital media, e-commerce, mobile and software. Other American partners it has brought on include Liberty Media, which acquired five percent of Ideiasnet shares in 2012.
Ideiasnet is publicly raded, a rare feat for a venture capital firm, and counts the Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista as one of its largest shareholders through his holding company, EBX.
In an interview with DealBook, Mr. Littlejohn said that, “our money is not that significant to them.†But he said that, “the idea of attracting an institutional investor was attractive to them.â€
The Paul Capital deal values Ideiasnet’s FIP 1 fund at $221 million. The New York firm has an option to acquire up to 25 percent of FIP 1.
Sami Haddad, the chief executive of Ideiasnet, said that the cash would be used in part to finance a portfolio company Padtec. It will also go toward starting up new growth equity funds focused on technology in Brazil starting this year.
The deal is expected to close by March 15.
