Advent International retains Jeremy Rabe and Livia Masnaghetti to advise on investments in the global loyalty and marketing services sectors

BOSTON and SAO PAULO, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, today announced that it has engaged Jeremy Rabe as an Operating Partner and Livia Masnaghetti as an Industry Advisor to consult with the firm on investments in the global loyalty and marketing services sectors.

Mr. Rabe most recently served as CEO of Premier Loyalty & Marketing, a joint venture of Aeromexico and AIMIA that manages the operations of the leading B2B2C coalition marketing company in Mexico, Club Premier. Ms. Masnaghetti was previously a special advisor to Aeroplan on its initial public offering (IPO) and spinoff from Air Canada and subsequently to AIMIA on other transactions including the spinoff of Club Premier from Aeromexico into a joint venture.

Mr. Rabe and Ms. Masnaghetti bring a unique combination of operating, financial structuring and governance experience. They will work closely with Advent's global retail and business and financial services teams to identify and assess investment opportunities in the loyalty and marketing services industries worldwide.

"We have been evaluating the loyalty and marketing services industries for some time and are excited about the compelling growth opportunities they offer around the world," said Chris Egan, a managing director in Advent's Boston office. "Jeremy and Livia are two highly accomplished executives with deep networks and strong records of success. With their assistance, we plan to apply our expertise in the retail and business and financial services sectors to find and secure attractive investments in these areas."

"In Latin America, we have identified several attractive opportunities and believe the region's high consumer growth and rising credit card penetration are particularly compelling," said Mario Malta, a managing director in Advent's Sao Paulo office. "In particular, we see significant potential to generate value by spinning off programs from corporations in various industries, including aviation and retail."

Mauricio Salgar, a managing director in Advent's Bogota office, said, "We are pleased to have Jeremy and Livia support our globally integrated team in seeking new investments in the loyalty and marketing services industries. Their deep experience in the Americas will benefit our deal generation and value creation efforts in these dynamic sectors."

Mr. Rabe is a growth-oriented CEO who has been successful throughout his career in scaling innovative businesses. As CEO of Premier Loyalty & Marketing since 2010, he led the creation of new partnerships with leading international brands such as Citi, American Express, Delta, Starwood and MacStore. He also expanded the company's membership base to almost 4 million and doubled its employee base to over 400 people. During Mr. Rabe's tenure, Premier Loyalty & Marketing more than doubled its annual sales, while maintaining industry-leading adjusted EBITDA margins. He also overhauled the company's online and mobile strategies, increasing online reward redemption rates for Club Premier from 0% to over 50% of all reward redemptions in one year.

Prior to Premier Loyalty & Marketing, Mr. Rabe led the strategic restructuring of Aeromexico's frequent flyer program, Club Premier, before the joint venture with AIMIA. Before joining Aeromexico, he oversaw the transformation of TACA Airlines' Distancia Loyalty Program from a captive frequent flyer program into a top-tier Latin American loyalty marketing company.

Ms. Masnaghetti is an experienced business and finance professional with significant knowledge of the loyalty, marketing services and aviation industries, as well as e-commerce, private equity, retail, utilities and manufacturing. She is particularly skilled in executing carve-outs, spinoffs and IPOs in loyalty and other sectors. Ms. Masnaghetti was a special advisor to Aeroplan on its IPO and spinoff from Air Canada. She also played a key role in the negotiation and execution of the Premier Loyalty & Marketing joint venture between Aeromexico and AIMIA as well as the implementation of standalone operational and governance plans for Premier Loyalty & Marketing and the Club Premier coalition marketing program.

Additionally, Ms. Masnaghetti led the negotiations and structuring of the joint venture agreement between AIMIA and Multiplus, a publicly traded subsidiary of LATAM Airlines Group, to form Prismah Fidelidade Brazil, a loyalty services business created to adapt AIMIA's loyalty knowledge and expertise to the Brazilian market.

"I have had the pleasure of working closely with Livia and know and respect the Advent team," said Mr. Rabe. "Advent brings a compelling combination of capital and operational expertise that aligns very well with the investment opportunities in the loyalty and marketing services industries in Latin America and globally."

Partnering with senior executives such as Mr. Rabe and Ms. Masnaghetti is a long-established element of Advent's highly operational approach to investing. The firm has relationships with numerous industry operators who work in specific sectors as independent consultants to Advent and its portfolio companies. These executives typically assist in activities such as finding attractive investment opportunities, conducting due diligence and creating and supporting value creation plans for Advent's portfolio companies.

Advent has been investing in the business and financial services sector for 23 years and has completed 65 investments in 22 countries worldwide. The firm has invested in several fee-based businesses that have been carved out of larger corporations and has shown an ability to create substantial value for its corporate partners, both at the time of the carve-out itself and through retained equity stakes. Advent's recent financial institution carve-outs include Worldpay (from Royal Bank of Scotland), Vantiv (from Fifth Third Bank) and Monext (from Experian). Advent has also been active in the retail, consumer and leisure sector for 24 years, during which time it has invested in 65 companies in 19 countries worldwide. Recent retail investments include lululemon athletica, Restoque/Dudalina and Douglas Holding.

About Advent International

Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. Since inception, the firm has invested in 300 buyout transactions in 40 countries and as of September 31, 2014, had $31 billion in assets under management. With offices on four continents, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 180 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments across five core sectors, including business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology, media and telecom. After 30 years dedicated to international investing, Advent remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies.

For more information, visit www.adventinternational.com.

SOURCE Advent International

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