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|
| UnitedHealth Group (US) | |
| Target | Brazil’s Amil Participações (90%) (Brazil) |
| Date announced | October 8 |
| Size | $4.9 billion |
| Advisers to target | Credit Suisse |
| Advisers to acquirer | JPMorgan |
| return to the Latin America Deals of the Year index | |
The otherwise patchy equity markets added impetus to M&A throughout the region. There were many large, transformative, cross-border deals in Latin America in 2012 but the standout one – and the fourth deal of the year was UnitedHealth Group’s acquisition of 90% of Brazil’s Amil Participações. The deal was the largest-ever cross-border acquisition of a Brazilian asset, with the US company paying $4.9 billion for its majority stake. It is transformative in the burgeoning healthcare sector and the deal also came in the middle of the year when Brazil’s slowing macroeconomy was beginning to lead to questions about the pricing of Brazilian assets. The deal demonstrates the premium that solid Brazilian companies can still attract – giving a boost to the entire M&A sector in the region’s largest economy.
"The premium that UnitedHealth Group paid was more than 50% of the trading valuation of Amil, and the structure – keeping Edson Bueno [founder and CEO of Amil] as CEO – shows that they value his local knowledge and the fact that they paid in cash is amazing.
