Equity International is a

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...

founded by

Sam Zell Samuel Zell (born Shmuel Zielonka, September 28, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. A former lawyer, Zell is the founder and chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm, founded in 1968. He ha ...

to invest in real estate in markets outside of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Since its founding in 1999, it has invested in 28 companies.

Investments

In 2002, Equity International invested $32 million in Mexican home builder Homex. The firm divested from Homex in 2008. In 2005, the firm made a $50 million investment in Brazilian property company

Gafisa Gafisa (formerly Gomes de Almeida Fernandes Imobiliária Sociedade Anonima) is the fourth largest Brazil, Brazilian residential construction and real estate company, after Cyrela Brazil Realty, PDG S.A. MRV Engenharia ...

. In 2010, the firm sold a significant portion of its shares in Gafisa. In 2006, the firm made its first investment in China, a $10 million investment in

Xinyuan Real Estate Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese real estate company. Xinyuan has traditionally engaged principally in residential real estate development and the provision of property management services, focusing on Tier II cities in China. His ...

, a Chinese homebuilder based in Zhengzhou. Xinyuan Real Estate became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

in 2007. In 2008, the firm invested in Chinese logistics and warehousing company Shanghai Yupei Group. The investment was sold in 2011. In 2011, the firm closed its 5th investment fund, with capital commitments of $650 million. In 2016, the firm invested $125 million in Estapar Participações SA, an operator of parking lots in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In 2017, the firm made a $29 million investment in Grupo Acosta Verde, a developer, owner, and manager of shopping centers in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In March 2020, the firm announced an investment in Stanza Living, an Indian student housing and shared living operator.

References

Financial services companies established in 1999 Private equity firms of the United States 1999 establishments in Illinois {{US-private-equity-company-stub