Private equity took centre stage at The Asunción Times Investing in Paraguay Forum #4 on 21 October 2026 at the SkyPark Conference Room. Three expert panelists explained where the opportunities lie, what the risks are and what investors should know before committing capital.
To understand why the Forum chose this subject, it helps to know how money reaches Paraguay. The country’s stock market is still small and little used, so most investment does not pass through it. Instead, much of it arrives through private equity: investing directly in companies that are not listed on a stock exchange. In practice, that means direct stakes in companies, partnerships with family businesses and privately organised funds.
The Investing in Paraguay Forum #4 panel brought together Manuel Mercy García of Investor IMAP Paraguay, New York-qualified corporate and M&A lawyer Jairo C. Lamatina, and executive Maurizio Bisicky, running for about 90 minutes including questions to the speakers. After the Forum, networking over wine followed.
Three decades of deals in Paraguay
Manuel García opened with a look back. He directs M&A and corporate finance at Investor·IMAP Paraguay; M&A stands for mergers and acquisitions, the buying and selling of companies. With 15 years in the field, as well as in company valuation and capital markets, his career includes Deloitte, PwC and Credicorp. García’s talk drew on 138 transactions in Paraguay since 1995.
The central finding is a change in who buys. García said M&A in Paraguay “has shifted from foreign to local buyers”. Local buyers accounted for 26% of transactions between 1995 and 2014, he explained, and for 71% since January 2024.
He also stressed how little competition there is from other investors. “Only 8 of 138 deals (6%) had a financial buyer,” he told the audience, while founders made up 37% of sellers between 2024 and 2026. García did not skip the risks, naming thin price transparency and small deal sizes.
A “measured first step” for investors
Jairo Lamatina, a New York-qualified corporate and M&A lawyer at Jeike Partners, turned to a practical question: how can an investor take part? He has more than a decade of experience at leading international law firms in New York, São Paulo and Singapore. Lamatina explained how buying a business alone is a big commitment, demanding capital, an accountable operator and a concentrated position to manage.
His answer for Paraguay was a sponsor-led route, where investors fund part of the capital and a dedicated team buys and oversees the business. He described two structures. The first creating one vehicle for each acquisition, because “backing one deal creates no commitment to the next”. The second: a conventional fund, which he presented as a longer-term option. There, investors commit to a mandate and the manager chooses the companies.
Lamatina also covered how the economics align between investors and sponsor, and how an acquisition is put together. His team looks for established companies with an enterprise value of US$2 million to US$10 million. Enterprise value is the overall value of a business. Such companies offer “room to grow and room to improve”.
Where Paraguay competes
Maurizio Bisicky is an executive and investor with more than 30 years of experience building and turning around companies in international markets. He now works as an operating partner for business owners and investors in Paraguay. His presentation moved from strategy to day-to-day operations, in two layers.
The strategic layer asked four questions about where Paraguay can build a lasting competitive advantage: what to produce, where to sell, what drives the cost base and where the country has an edge. Bisicky condensed the answer into a formula: “Products × Market access × Input economics = Relative competitiveness”. He backed this with export figures and data on more than 7,700 companies classed as large.
The operational layer turned to what it takes to improve a business after it is acquired. Bisicky separated the wider environment, such as credit information and training infrastructure, from the capabilities inside a company. Those include reliable financial records, documented processes, clear governance and technology.
28 October, Investing in Paraguay Forum #5: Airbnb in Asunción
The conversation continues at the next The Asunción Times Investing in Paraguay Forum: Airbnb in Asunción. Three expert panelists will look at the short-term rental market up close on Wednesday 28 October 2026, once again at the SkyPark Conference Room, on the top floor of the building. VIP members enjoy 50% off, full details at asunciontimes.com/events.
