One Equity Partners (OEP) has acquired 50% of Portal de Documentos, a Brazilian company that licenses a web-based platform to expedite and automate the recovery of delinquent consumer loans. One Equity Partners is the merchant banking investment arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co. This is the first investment that OEP has made in Brazil, and was advised by Pacific Investments.

With the new investor, Portal adds financial strength and international standards of corporate governance. Portal was founded in 2007 and is today the leader in its segment and experiencing rapid growth during the past several years. Among its clients are the large financial institutions that offer credit, and that benefit from significant cost reduction while using Portal’s solution.

Portal generates efficiency making the collection process cheaper, faster and eco friendly, given the reduction in use of paper. While offering a comprehensive electronic platform, with national footprint, Portal allows its clients to collect on loans that were previously non-viable from the operating cost perspective.

One Equity Partners became interested in investing in Portal’s successful business model and decided to back the company for further growth. Founder Joao Bosco Ardisson will remain as the company´s CEO, and One Equity Partners will appoint the Chairman of the Board.

Alberto Tamer, member of the Board and head of Portal´s institutional relations said One Equity Partners´ investment is a significant recognition of the quality of Portal´s solutions.

Commenting on the investment, Dick Cashin, One Equity Partners´ managing partner noted that the firm chose to invest in Portal de Documentos because of its successful business model, management know-how and growth perspective through new market segments and new products. Cashin reiterated that the industry has strong growth in Brazil and the firm is keen to work with the leading banks to further develop the consumer finance infrastructure that needs to grow to keep pace with the expansion of the Brazilian middle class.

One Equity Partners (OEP) manages a portfolio of US$ 8 billion in investments and commitments for JPMorgan Chase & Co. OEP invests in management-led buyouts, and growth capital financing with a particular emphasis on corporate partnerships and divestitures. In addition to a significant presence in developed countries such as the US and Europe, One Equity Partners has recently made investments in developing markets such as China, India, Turkey and now Brazil.

One Equity Partners acts as a lead equity investor in management-led buyouts, and growth capital financing with a particular emphasis on corporate partnerships and divestitures.