La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana S.A. (Grupo SURA) have announced the acquisition by CDPQ of a strategic minority interest in Grupo SURA’s subsidiary SURA Asset Management (SURA AM), one of Latin America’s leading financial institutions with US$135 billion in assets under management. CDPQ will acquire the participation in SURA AM from sellers Bancolombia and Grupo Wiese, for a total amount of US$247 million, following regulatory approval.

Our subsidiary SURA AM offers financial services to nearly 20 million clients in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, El Salvador and Uruguay. Through this new investment and enhanced strategic partnership, SURA AM will pursue a sustainable growth strategy in the investment, savings and pension fund management sectors throughout Latin America.

This transaction is a new step in the growing relationship between Grupo SURA, one of Colombia’s largest multinational holding companies, and CDPQ, a leading global institutional investor managing nearly US$235 billion in assets. Since 2015, both organizations have invested jointly in Mexican infrastructure projects through a dedicated local platform, and participated in the financing of other infrastructure projects in Colombia.

“Grupo SURA is one of our most strategic partners in Latin America. Together, we have made major investments through innovative infrastructure platforms focused on long-term, sustainable growth. This transaction further strengthens our partnership with Grupo SURA and increases our presence in one of Colombia’s most promising sectors – financial services. With this transaction, our investments in the country have reached US$1 billion in 2018,” said Michael Sabia, President and CEO, CDPQ.

With a workforce increasingly contributing to pension plans and middle class consolidation, Latin America becomes a region with a growing potential in terms of financial services. It offers solid long-term growth prospects to companies providing savings and investment solutions such as SURA AM.

“SURA AM and its parent, Grupo SURA, both believe that a long-term partnership with CDPQ, a like-minded institutional investor, will bring benefits such as exchanging ideas and strategies in the asset management space and partnering in evaluating opportunities for expansion in the region,” said David Bojanini, CEO, Grupo SURA. “This transaction shows the increasing international recognition of SURA AM as Latin America’s leader in asset management,” added Ignacio Calle Cuartas, CEO, SURA AM.