Colombia’s Grupo Sura divests Salvadoran pension fund

Through this agreement, Protección will sell all the shares it owns in Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Crecer, and which is  incorporated and domiciled in El Salvador.

According to Sura, Centro Financiero Crecer will pay Protección $60 million in the transaction.

"With this divestment, Sura's pension and severance fund seeks to concentrate on the development of its business and capitalize on growth opportunities, focusing its capital on local businesses in accordance with its organizational strategy," Grupo Sura stated.

Centro Financiero Crecer has become a key agent in the retirement savings management industry, especially through the acquisition of AFP Crecer, a retirement funds management company in the Dominican Republic, which in recent years has consolidated as a key player in the market, increasing its revenues significantly.

The transaction implied regulatory complexities as a multijurisdictional deal, according to Colombian law firm Gómez-Pinzón, which advised AFP Crecer.

“All the jurisdictions involved and their specificities, had to match and intertwine among each other to have a successful closing,” the law firm said.

Gómez-Pinzón’s team was led by partner Lina Uribe García, with senior associate Andrés Felipe Fonseca-Struss, associate Juan Felipe Sáenz Dussan and junior associate Felipe Guzmán Poveda.

Centro Financiero Crecer’s in-house team was led by Suzanne Bergés Garrido.

Centro Financiero Crecer was also advised by Arias Law in El Salvador, with a team led by partner Ana Mercedes López, with senior associate Rafael Burgos. – Senior Associate

Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías Protección was advised by Posse Herrera Ruiz, with a team led by partners Susana Gómez and Jaime Cubillos, with associate Daniel Meza. In El Salvador, the company was advised by Dentons.