Where would Antares invest?

Antares expects that most of its investments would come from the secondary market, specifically purchases from stakeholders that are willing to sell all or part of their holdings.  Through the purchases of such shares and their resale after a reasonable holding period, Antares aims at contributing to generate some liquidity to the industry, help deepen the market by generating more arm’s length price data, and also obtaining a return for its investors.
Antares will focus on financial intermediaries whose main line of business is lending money to micro and small enterprises.  This category includes among others, commercial banks and non-financial companies serving micro entrepreneurs.  Though most of its investments will be in Latin America and the Caribbean, Antares expects that a portion of its portfolio will be located in other regions.

Typically, Antares would invest in strong, mature MFIs, normally paying or soon expected to pay dividends.  The Fund will seek MFIs with a strong management team and successful track record in the management of financial services institutions and/or microfinance.  The MFI must have a clear definition of roles and responsibilities at all levels of the organization, including the critical relationship between the Board of Directors and Management, and a clear institutional vision duly communicated to the staff and the market. Basically, Antares will focus on strongly governed and solidly operated MFIs.  In specific cases, Antares could also collaborate with like-minded investors in the capitalization of newly created/converted MFIs that are expected to have upside potential, or in effecting mergers. 

As of June 30, 2009, Antares Equity Participation Fund has invested through secondary market operations in the equity (common shares) of eight regulated and privately owned microfinance institutions (MFIs). 

The following table detail Antares’ investments since inception: (partial or total divestments are signal with an asterisk)

A summary of some relevant data on Antares’ investments follows:

Banco Banex

Date of Investment:              August 21, 2006
Type of Investment:             Equity
Current Shareholding:            2.60%

Banco Banex, formerly Findesa, got the approval to become a Bank from the Nicaraguan Superintendency in late 2008. The Bank provides funding to rural and urban Nicaraguan micro and small enterprises through its 19 branches.  On August 21, 2006, Antares made its first capital contribution to Findesa by purchasing 965 shares through a secondary market operation.  Throughout the years, Antares has made additional investments (and has also sold a portion of its shareholding on the secondary market to interested third parties).

EDPYME Confianza

Date of Investment:               September 9, 2006
Type of Investment:              Equity
Current Shareholding:            1.32%

EDPYME Confianza became a regulated entity in 1998, when the Securities and Banking Superintendency of Peru authorized Confianza, to operate in the departments of Junin and Huancavelica.  It has been able to attract funding from both local and international sources.  Some of its shareholders include Alterfin, FOLADE, INCOFIN, SIDI, Volksvermogen, NOVIB and Oikocredit, and more recently Triple Jump.  Antares’ original investment comprised Type A and Type C shares.  During 2006’s last quarter, Antares sold to Directors and Employees of Confianza its Type C shares, representing a 2.8% of Confianza’s total capital. 

EDPYME Crear Tacna

Date of Investment:               September 21, 2006
Type of Investment:              Equity
Current Shareholding:            7.50%

Crear Tacna became an EDPYME (Development Entity for Small and Micro Enterprises) in 1998. TACNA provides funding to rural and urban micro-entrepreneurs in Southern Peru.  Antares became the first international institutional shareholder in Crear Tacna when it bought shares in the secondary market from the founding NGO: Habitat Tacna Siglo XXI. Until then, all the equity funding comes from local entrepreneurs.  In 2008, the totality of Crear Tacna’s shareholders sold its shares to “Fundación BBVA para las Microfinanzas”, which merged TACNA and two others MFIs to form a larger financial intermediary.

Banco Solidario

Date of Investment:               October 8, 2006
Type of Investment:              Equity
Current Shareholding:            1.82%

Banco Solidario became a bank in 1996, supported by foreign investors such as ACCION International, the Andean Development Corporation, CARE, ProFund International and Fundación Alternativa.  In 2006, Antares acquired a 4% of the Bank through a secondary market operation shortly thereafter, Unibanco bought 49% of the Bank through a US$12 million capital increase. .Banco Solidario has 25 branches throughout Ecuador from which it offers a wide range of products such as individual loans, solidarity group loans, rural credits, saving and checking accounts, etc. 

SOGESOL

Date of investment:               November 8, 2006
Type of investment:              Equity
Current shareholding:            10.14%

Sogebank is Haiti’s largest commercial bank; created in 1986 by the acquisition of two branches from the Royal Bank of Canada.  Sogesol is a service company that generates and manages microfinance loans for Sogebank.  In 2006, Antares acquired a 10.14% of Sogesol but in 2007 sold 50% of its shareholding to Sogebank and two private Haitian investors and in 2008, sold the rest of its shares.

BancoSol

Date of investment:               January 29, 2007
Type of Investment:               Equity
Current Shareholding:            4.00%

Banco Solidario established in 1992, is today one of the leading microfinance banks in Bolivia. As of today BancoSol has 48 branches throughout 7 departments.  Antares acquired a 4% through a secondary market operation from an international institutional investor in early 2008 and divested its holding shortly thereafter.

CRAC Señor de Luren

Date of investment:               September 30, 2008
Type of Investment:              Equity
Current Shareholding:            3.72%

CRAC Señor de Luren was established in May 2004 by a group of local shareholders, (mainly entrepreneurs dedicated to agriculture and business activities within the Ica region).  Currently it is a regulated entity that operates in the Peruvian financial system serving clients located in the Ica region.  Since it was established, Señor de Luren has served mainly rural and agriculture producers and urban micro entrepreneurs by providing savings and credit.  The institution has been very successful in incorporating new products and technologies Among the CRACs currently operating in Peru, Señor de Luren is ranked first in terms of total assets, credit portfolio, and net returns.

Sociedad Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito AMC de R.L.

Date of investment:               October 22, 2008
Type of Investment:              Equity
Current Shareholding:            5.90%

AMC was established on December 19, 2000 as a non regulated private entity and initiated operations in January 2001, aiming to provide quality financial services to low income individuals located in the eastern part of El Salvador The MFI’s goal is to contribute to the development of micro and small enterprises. Antares acquired a 5.90% through a secondary market operation in 2008. AMC has continued to increase its capital base through the conversion of preferred shares into common shares as well as the sale of shares of equity to Directors/Shareholders/Employees.