Searching in Latin America?

May 05, 2026

by Luke Tatone from Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT Sloan School of Management in Portland, OR, USA

We're working hard to grow the Searchfunder community in Latin America. Please take a moment to introduce yourself below. Some questions to consider answering: Where are you based? What is your background? What's your buy box? Have you acquired yet? Where do you need the most help right now? Where can you provide help to others? Anything else on your mind? We'll be able to have much deeper discussions if you can provide as much detail as possible. A paragraph or two is perfect. Be sure to tag (@) when replying to comments to make sure your sub-comments are read.

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Reply by a searcher
from The University of Chicago in Houston, TX, USA

A couple of traditional search fund investors based in Latin America that LA searchers might want to connect with: Cerralvo (www.cerralvo.com) and Colca Capital (www.colcacapital.com)

Reply by a searcher
from Instituto Panamericano de Alta Direccion de Empresa in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico

I'm Carlos Villanueva. Based in León, Mexico, and currently building Celeris Global, a self-funded search focused on Health & Nutrition businesses across North America — particularly dietary supplements, functional foods, healthy snacks, functional beverages, and nutraceutical manufacturing/services. My background is primarily operational. I spent over 20 years operating and scaling businesses across food ingredients, manufacturing, and technology. Most recently, I served as General Manager of Productos Industriales de León (PILSAC), Mexico’s largest edible gelatin producer, where I led operations through a period of significant growth before our exit in###-###-#### I also spent time in Germany working with Gelita and have experience operating across Mexico, Europe, and North America. My buy box is generally lower middle market businesses with strong products, healthy unit economics, and opportunities for long-term value creation through operational improvement and selective add-ons. I’m especially interested in fragmented areas within Health & Nutrition where there is room to build enduring platforms rather than simply financial engineering stories. I’m also open to special situations, founder transitions, and businesses that need institutionalization — as long as the core product and customer relationships are strong. Geography wise, our focus is in Mexico and the USA, while we're also open to discuss opportunities in Europe if they fit our criteria. I have not acquired yet, so right now I’m probably looking for the most help around proprietary sourcing at scale, deal flow systems, lender relationships in the lower middle market, and learning from operators/searchers who have already gone through the transition from “searching” to actually becoming CEO after acquisition. Where I believe I can help others is on the operational side. I’m happy to discuss manufacturing operations, scaling family businesses, international supplier/customer relationships, nutraceuticals and functional ingredients, cross-border perspectives between Mexico and the U.S., and the realities of operating businesses long-term versus purely transacting. I can also probably help other searchers think through food and health-related sectors, especially from an operator’s perspective rather than only an investment-banker lens. One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: many search fund discussions focus heavily on deal structure and acquisition mechanics (which obviously matter), but I think the harder challenge is building businesses that are still worth owning 10–20 years later. That’s the lens I’m trying to keep throughout this process. Happy to connect with others searching in Latin America or looking at Health & Nutrition-related sectors.

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