Seeking to increase its customer base in Central America, Mexico City-based lender Credito Real SAB has purchased a 70 percent interest in Costa Rican nontraditional lender Instacredit, which has 61 branches in the region.
A Miami-based Jones Day team advised Credito Real on the $70 million purchase of Instacredit’s Panamanian holding company, Marevalley Corp. The deal closed Feb. 22 in San Jose, Costa Rica, where Instacredit is based. Credito Real also refinanced $21 million of debt held by Instacredit, which operates 52 branches in Costa Rica, eight in Nicaragua and one in Panama.
