© Provided by La Tercera
Third
Five years ago, the Norte Sur group began a deep divestment strategy. In 2016, its partners agreed to reduce its capital by $30,000 million, resources that would come from the sale of dispensable assets. From then on they have alienated properties, schools and shares in companies. Only in 2021, Norte Sur -controlled by Aníbal Correa, Daniel Mas and Maximiliano Poblete- divested itself of its part in the real estate projects of El Espino SA, Los Ingleses SA and in the educational company Centro de Eventos San Nicolás SA This is how the departure from the precincts where the National Villa Alemana, National Limache, San Diego, Montessori and San Andrés Las Rosas schools operated. And now, starting in 2022, they have added one more company to their portfolio: NS Agro. And they will sell their control to none other than the Brazilian group Patria, the same ones that in September of last year absorbed the national manager Moneda Asset Management.
On March 3, the parties notified the operation to the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE). The document reads that the transaction will consist of the purchase by Sariri Investments 2017 -the vehicle of Patria Investments Colombia- of a large part of the shares of NS Agro SA, a firm founded in 2014 that brings together three agricultural subsidiaries of NorteSur. It is regarding the marketer of fertilizers, machinery, seeds and plant nutrition, Martínez y Valdivieso SA; the biotechnology firm for plant nutrition and health, AgroAdvance; and the Peruvian subsidiary for the distribution of agricultural input brands, Cytoperú.
The sellers will be Inversiones Norte Sur, which will dispose of 53.49% of NS Agro; Asesorías e Inversiones Awad Lee Ltda., which will divest 1.11%; and Inversiones Alyn Ltda., will deliver 2.01%. In addition -says the notification- there will be a series of indirect sellers, who will part with 25.39% of the company.
At the end of the day, NS Agro’s largest shareholders will be Patria, with 82%, and Inversiones Norte Sur, with 15%. On March 17, the FNE began the investigation of the operation, which would last, in a first phase, for regarding 30 business days.
This would be the fourth approach of Patria in Chile. In addition to the purchase of Moneda, there is the acquisition of the 02 gym chain in 2018 and the development of a desalination plant in Quinteros Bay, via Aguas Pacífico.