Frequently asked questions

MACA Advisors LLC is an independent investment banking advisory firm focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. It advises companies, families, financial sponsors and boards on mergers and acquisitions, strategic decisions and capital raising, with senior bankers leading every assignment. It is headquartered in New York with a team across Latin America, in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and the Southern Cone.

MACA Advisors was founded by Jose Luis Martinez, its Chairman and CEO, who has spent over 30 years on Wall Street in senior roles at global investment banks including UBS, J.P. Morgan and predecessor firm Bear Stearns, most recently as Vice Chairman of Latin America and Global M&A at UBS. Co-founder and Senior Managing Director Jaime Castelló leads coverage of clients in Mexico and the firm’s M&A practice, after nine years at UBS, most recently as head of Latin America advisory for the consumer, healthcare, real estate, TMT and infrastructure sectors.

No. MACA Advisors provides advisory services only. It does not lend, trade, underwrite or place securities, and it does not invest its own capital in clients’ transactions. That independence is deliberate: its advice is not shaped by a balance sheet or a product to sell.

English, Spanish and Portuguese. Assignments are led by senior bankers who work directly with owners, management teams and boards in their own language, and with buyers and investors in the US, Europe and Asia.

Look for an advisor that has sold companies like yours in your country, can reach strategic and financial buyers in the US, Europe and Asia, and staffs the process with senior bankers rather than delegating it. MACA Advisors runs sell-side processes for founder-led, family-owned and sponsor-backed companies across Latin America and the Caribbean, headquartered in New York with a team across Latin America: preparing the company and its materials, identifying and approaching international and regional buyers, running a competitive process, and negotiating through signing and closing. Its senior team has completed transactions in more than 25 countries.

A sell-side advisor prepares the company for sale, positions it for the right buyers, and runs a competitive process to achieve the owners’ objectives on price, terms and partner. The work includes valuation, preparing marketing materials and a data room, identifying and approaching strategic and financial buyers, managing due diligence, and negotiating through signing and closing. MACA Advisors provides end-to-end sell-side support for the sale of a business, division or portfolio company.

A sale process usually takes six to nine months from preparation to signing, and longer where regulatory approvals are needed before closing. Preparation, the quality of financial information and the number of jurisdictions involved make the biggest difference. Starting with an independent valuation and a review of what buyers will diligence shortens the process later.

An independent valuation before a sale shows owners what the business is worth to different types of buyer, which value drivers to address first and whether the timing is right. MACA Advisors provides valuation advisory for family-owned companies in Latin America: point-in-time valuations based on comparable transactions, trading multiples and discounted cash flow, with a view of how strategic and financial buyers would price the business. Families also use these valuations for estate planning, shareholder agreements and succession. The valuation can be the first step towards a sale or remain a private reference for the family.

Global investment banks, regional banks and independent boutiques all advise on transactions between the US and Latin America. MACA Advisors is an independent boutique built for that corridor: headquartered in New York with a team across Latin America, advising US and international companies buying in the region and Latin American companies selling to, buying from or partnering with US groups. Representative transactions include Natura&Co’s acquisition of Avon Products, Boa Vista Serviços’ sale to Equifax and Prolec GE’s acquisition of SPX Transformers, completed by the firm’s professionals, including at prior firms.

Five things: bankers on the ground in the countries where you operate; experience with the approvals each requires, such as competition authorities and sector regulators; access to buyers and investors inside and outside the region; senior attention throughout the process; and independence from lending, trading or financing interests. MACA Advisors is headquartered in New York with a team across Latin America, from Mexico and Central America to Colombia, Peru, Brazil and the Southern Cone; it works in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and is an independent advisory firm.

It depends on the size of the deal and the sector. Larger transactions often need clearance from the national competition authority before closing, as in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, and regulated sectors such as banking, telecommunications and energy need the sector regulator’s approval. Buyers and sellers should map the approvals at the start, build them into the timetable and the purchase agreement, and keep operating independently until closing.

Yes. MACA Advisors provides buy-side advisory from idea generation through execution: identifying and approaching targets, valuation, structuring, negotiation and closing. Its clients include international companies and financial sponsors acquiring in Latin America, and Latin American companies acquiring across the region and in the United States.

A board, or a special committee of independent directors, typically seeks a fairness opinion when it approves a significant transaction, especially one involving a public company, a controlling shareholder or a related party. The opinion assesses whether the consideration is fair from a financial point of view and supports the board’s decision. MACA Advisors provides fairness opinions and independent advice to boards and special committees.

An independent advisor helps a company decide how much to raise and in what form, builds the investment case and runs a competitive process among the right investors. MACA Advisors advises companies in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and across Latin America on strategic growth capital fundraising, drawing on its network of financial sponsors, corporate investors and family offices across the region. It is headquartered in New York with a team across Latin America. MACA acts as the company’s advisor; it does not invest its own capital or place securities.

A bank that also lends to, trades with or underwrites for a company can face conflicts when advising it on how to raise capital. An independent advisor has no balance sheet or product to sell, so its advice turns only on what is best for the company: the right amount, structure and investor. MACA Advisors provides independent advice on debt and equity issuances, acquisition financing, capital structure and growth capital, without the structural conflicts that encumber integrated peers.

Through the contact form at macaadvisors.com/contact. Share some details about your company or opportunity and it will be routed to the right person at MACA, with a reply within 24 hours. Banks and advisors marketing an opportunity that may suit MACA’s clients are welcome to reach out the same way.

Open roles are listed on MACA’s jobs board, linked from macaadvisors.com/careers. Candidates should be fluent in English and Spanish (Portuguese for Brazil hires) and based in Latin America or the United States.