Dundee buys 25% stake in real assets investor

Canadian investment firm Dundee Corporation has bought a 25 percent stake in Union Group, a privately-owned firm which invests primarily in real assets, including energy, infrastructure, oil and gas, and real estate in emerging Latin American economies.

Union Group will invest the proceeds of this transaction – which it did not disclose – in its existing network of portfolio businesses, valued at more than $1 billion, the London-based firm said in a statement. Currently, its investments focus is primarily on Uruguay, Peru, and Paraguay.

“Attracting a major international investor such as Dundee underlines our position as the leading investor in our target Latin American markets,” said Union Group founder and president Juan Sartori in the statement. “It is also a real testament to the investment story behind emerging investment grade Latin American economies, and specifically sectors backed by real assets.”

The partnership will also enable the two companies to explore other joint opportunities in the future.

“The combination of Dundee and Union Group is duly set-up to take advantage of this boom,” Dundee’s president and chief executive Ned Goodman said, referring to Latin America’s ability to provide hard and soft commodities to China as well as other resource-hungry countries.

“We will work together to enhance value creation for the partnership by identifying, acquiring, financing best-in-class assets and developing business relationships in key resource-rich Latin-American countries,” he added.

Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Dundee Corporation is an asset management company whose core competencies include resources, real estate and infrastructure, and more recently, the agricultural sector.

Since its founding in 2008, London-based Union Group has focused on high growth Latin American economies characterised by under-developed natural resources and infrastructure sectors, a stable political environment, and robust economic regulation.