Will 2010 be the year of the foreigner in Brazilian startups?
Diego Remus on May 19, 2010
In September 2009 Naspers Group, already present in Brazil, acquired nearly all of Grupo Buscapé. It had been a while since we’d seen an acquisition as notable as that one here.
The whole world waited expectantly for more buys, which didn’t happen for a while but things are picking up again.
This year HomeAway announced in March it had purchased AlugueTemporada. Last Thursday WPP bought the agencies Midia Digital and I Cherry. Yesterday Naspers returned to invest in Brazil, putting 15 million dollars into BrandsClub, which had already received 2 million from the European fund Trayas.
Ok, this latter one was not an acquisition, but that’s some money! Europe is often below our radar, and out of sight of those looking for an exit. In both senses. In addition it looks like more than a few companies are in an advanced stage of negotiations with North American investors. Not from New York, from Silicon Valley.
Will the dollars finally start passing through the doors we are trying to reopen, after the last bubble? And the euros? Who will be the next Brazilian startup to be bought or sold? Invested in? Make your bets in the comments!
