Blackstone buys into Brazil

The Blackstone Group is reportedly planning to purchase a 40 percent stake in Sao Paulo-based Patria Investments, one of Brazil’s largest private equity and asset management firms, for $200 million.

Blackstone and Patria – Banco de Negocios, which originated from Patrimonio Private Equity, formed a strategic alliance in 2004 with the objective of developing corporate finance solutions for clients in Brazil. The duo, however, has yet to invest jointly in any transactions, Reuters reports.

Sao Pablo: Catching the eye of Blackstone

Blackstone was not immediately available for comment.

Patria Investments closed its third dedicated private equity fund on $700 million in 2008 and currently has over $5 billion in assets under management.

Brazil has witnessed a surge of investment activity in 2010 from private equity firms outside of Latin America. Earlier this month, Silver Lake Sumeru, the middle market affiliate of mature technology investment firm Silver Lake Partners, made its first investment in the region by acquiring a minority interest in Brazilian computing company Locaweb.

In May, Energy investment giant First Reserve announced that it was investing $500 million in Brazil-based Barra Energia, an independent exploration and production company, and London-headquartered Apax Partners made its Brazilian debut with a $1 billion investment for a 54 percent stake in Tivit, an integrated IT company.