Access
No path to global capital
Local advisors lack relationships with PE, family offices and strategic buyers outside the region. The buyer universe stays narrow — and so do the outcomes.
Insights
Perspectives on mid-market M&A.
Notes from the founders and the Zion team on origination, execution and LATAM market dynamics.
Global M&A 2025
Recovery concentrated in megadeals.
PwC estimates that aggregate global deal value rose 36% year-over-year in 2025, while transaction volume barely moved (+1%). The rebound was driven by megadeals over USD 5 billion — 111 of them, up from 63 the year before. For a firm focused on tickets between USD 20M and USD 120M, the reading is clear: the market did not disappear; it became more demanding, more dependent on financing, and more sensitive to asset quality.
+0%
Global deal value
+0%
Global volume
0
Megadeals >USD 5bn
Source · PwC Global M&A Industry Trends 2026
Premium for preparation
The size premium is back to 2.8x EBITDA.
In the lower middle market, scale and preparation increasingly determine whether a deal closes — and at what multiple. Our thesis is built precisely on this gap. GF Data tracks PE-sponsored transactions in the USD 10–500M enterprise value range. In the first nine months of 2025, platforms between USD 100M and USD 500M traded at 9.8x EBITDA. Sub-USD 100M platforms traded at 7.0x. The size premium widened back to 2.8x. Prepared assets capture the premium. Unprepared ones absorb the discount.
6.5x
< USD 25M
7.0x
USD 25–100M
9.8x
USD 100–500M
The gap
0.0x
EBITDA premium between sub-USD 100M and USD 100–500M platforms.
Source · GF Data — 9M 2025
LATAM 2025
LATAM rebounded — but not as one market.
3,061 transactions and USD 119.8bn in 2025. Each focus country plays a different role: Chile concentrates density; Mexico concentrates scale; Peru anchors the resource thesis; Argentina offers selective upside.
0
LATAM transactions 2025
0bn USD
Aggregate value
+0%
YoY growth in deal value
Source · TTR Data — Annual LATAM Report 2025
The messy middle gap
The messy middle market is underserved.
Companies in the USD 20–120M segment fall in a structural gap: too small for global investment banks, too complex for purely local advisors, and rarely prepared for a competitive process. This is exactly where Zion plays.
Readiness
Assets not built to sell
Most mid-market companies lack equity story, clean reporting, and quality of earnings. The deal that should close at premium ends up discounted — or not closing.
Execution
Slow, generic processes
Cookie-cutter banker workflows, weak buyer mapping, and amateur structuring create suboptimal exits — and leave value on the table for founders.
LATAM execution model
Each country plays a distinct role.
We don't treat LATAM as a single market. Each focus country has a specific function in origination, execution and monetization — and we allocate effort accordingly.
Chile
45%Trust hub & execution base
Mining, energy, software, consumer
Operational HQ · pipeline density · stable governance
Mexico
25%Scale & monetization engine
Software, consumer, finserv, logistics
Largest market by deal value · strategic & PE buyer concentration
Peru
15%Natural adjacency in resources
Mining, infra, real estate, water/environmental
Resource thesis · logical extension from Santiago
Argentina
15%Selective high-upside coverage
Energy, oil & gas, lithium, agribusiness
Macro reform unlocking dealflow · selective mandates
LATAM 2025 detail
| Country | Deals | Value (USDbn) | YoY Volume | YoY Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chile | 338 | 6.7 | −12% | −53% |
| Mexico | 307 | 32.5 | −17% | +86% |
| Peru | 167 | 4.4 | −9% | −15% |
| Argentina | 249 | 6.9 | +0.4% | −36% |
Source · TTR Data — Annual LATAM transactional reports 2025
Sector focus
Where dealflow, demand and premium converge.
Specialization wins. Generalists discount. We focus on sectors where strategic interest, buyer competition, and dealflow density are structurally strong across LATAM.
- 01
Technology & SaaS
Vertical software and IT services in Chile and Mexico — strongest buyer universe and AI tailwind.
- 02
Fintech
Digital infrastructure, payments, wealth and lending — global investor appetite, regional consolidation.
- 03
Healthcare
Clinical diagnostics, biotech, services — premium multiples for assets with regional scale.
- 04
eCommerce
Marketplaces, brands, and enabling infrastructure — selective, but high-quality assets command premium.
- 05
Supply Chain & Logistics
Industrial, logistics, nearshoring beneficiaries — tied to the recovery in trade.
Notes
Team notes.
Short reads on transactions, sectors and LATAM mid-market dynamics.
Coming soon.
We're preparing the first publications. Check back soon.
Live Market
The market, live.
Reuters headlines · global finance and deals.
Source · Reuters