Hero — Professional meeting, Santiago office, natural light, wide angle
Boutique PE Advisory · Latin America

Your cross-border PE
transaction deserves
a specialist

When Latin American capital meets international fund structures, the complexity multiplies. We bring buy-side and sell-side experience to help investors and fund managers close with confidence.

02
Hero: Full-bleed image with left-side content overlay (Leroux pattern). StoryBrand customer-as-hero: "Your transaction deserves a specialist." The gradient overlay preserves readability while the background image signals professionalism. Slide indicators suggest depth of content.

The best way to navigate
cross-border PE

Specialized advisory for the specific frictions of international private equity involving Latin America.

View More ↗
12+
Years of transaction experience across the region
View More ↗

Dual buy-side & sell-side perspective

We have worked from both sides of the table. This dual perspective is rare and commercially decisive.

View More ↗
Office — warm light, conference setting
Bento grid: Asymmetric layout inspired by Leroux's 3-column feature block. Mixes text cards, stats, and imagery. The navy stat card serves as a visual anchor and social proof element. CRO: immediately addresses "are they experienced enough?" objection.
Who We Serve

Two audiences. One specialized firm.

Investor — family office, professional setting

For Investors

Family offices, AFPs, and institutional allocators evaluating international PE commitments. We handle diligence, negotiation, and structuring.

Investor capabilities →
GP — fund manager, modern office

For Fund Managers

GPs and IR teams fundraising in Latin America. We prepare documents, manage expectations, and coordinate closing across jurisdictions.

GP capabilities →
Video — Alfonso introducing Cardonal's approach
Why Cardonal

Thriving transactions with
true specialists

We combine advisory depth with practical execution support — the responsiveness of a boutique with the sophistication of a specialist.

Regional Intelligence

Granular understanding of how LatAm investors evaluate and decide.

Transaction Speed

Direct access to senior professionals at deal-pace responsiveness.

Counsel Integration

We work alongside your existing counsel — additive, not adversarial.

Video section: Inspired by Leroux's "Thriving business" video layout. Play button overlay on founder video paired with feature list. CRO: video builds trust and humanizes the firm. Feature list handles objections (speed, integration, regional depth).

What makes us different

01

Dual-Side Experience

Buy-side and sell-side PE experience creates negotiation intelligence that single-perspective firms cannot offer.

02

Regional Intelligence

We understand how Chilean AFPs evaluate, how Colombian family offices decide, and how Brazilian allocators negotiate.

03

Boutique Responsiveness

No layers of associates between your question and an answer. Senior professionals, deal-speed responses.

Parallax — aerial view Santiago financial district
“When your international counsel says they can handle Latin America, ask them how many AFP side-letter negotiations they have closed.”
Alfonso Muñoz Balharry · Founding Partner
Testimonial/quote band: Inspired by Leroux's full-width dark quote section. Using a founder quote instead of a testimonial (since verified testimonials are not yet available). The quote signals insider knowledge and subtly positions against generalist competitors. Image parallax creates visual depth.
Process — professional handshake, document signing
Our Approach

How we work

01

Scope

Define the mandate, stakeholders, and timeline.

02

Prepare

Documents and strategy aligned to counterparty expectations.

03

Execute

Active negotiation, coordination, and issue resolution.

04

Close

Transaction completed. Documentation finalized.

Team of
specialists

View More ↗
Alfonso Muñoz Balharry — portrait

Alfonso Muñoz Balharry

Founding Partner
12+ years. Former Legal Manager at PICTON. Buy-side and sell-side PE transaction experience across Latin America.
ES · EN · PT · FR
Valentina Portugués — portrait

Valentina Portugués

Associate
4+ years. Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez graduate with honors. Former associate at EDN Abogados, Investment Funds team.
ES · EN · DE

Latest insights

View all ↗
Article image
14
Apr
Investor

What Latin American LPs actually ask for in side letters

The provisions that matter most — and why your international counsel may not anticipate them.

Read More ↗
Article image
08
Apr
Fund Manager

Preparing your fund documents for Chilean AFPs

A practical guide to the regulatory and diligence requirements that delay LatAm fundraises.

Read More ↗
Article image
01
Apr
Market

Cross-border PE fundraising: 2026 outlook for Latin America

Capital flows, regulatory shifts, and what fund managers should expect this year.

Read More ↗

Ready to discuss your
next transaction?

Whether evaluating a commitment or preparing a fundraise, a 30-minute conversation will clarify how we can help.

Schedule a conversation →
Hero — Chilean landscape, warm golden light, terrain
Private equity advisory · Cross-border · Latin America

The ground
beneath the
transaction

Private equity in Latin America doesn't fail on strategy. It fails on the ground — in the diligence, the negotiation, the expectations no one translated.

Scroll to explore ↓
Who we are

Named after the land.
Rooted in the work.

Cardonal takes its name from the region in Chile where our founder's family farm is located. The firm is built with the same philosophy: grounded in a real place, committed to real relationships.

We are a boutique advisory built for the specific frictions of cross-border private equity — combining buy-side and sell-side transaction experience with regional intelligence that generalist firms cannot replicate.

Chilean landscape — desert terrain, warm afternoon
Video — Cardonal team in conversation, office setting

Thriving transactions with
true specialists

We combine advisory depth with practical execution support — the responsiveness of a boutique firm with the sophistication of a dedicated PE specialist.

View More →
Video band: Split-screen dark section (Leroux pattern). Video left with play overlay, text content right. Creates visual weight and break between light sections. The play button invites engagement without autoplay.

What we do

Advisory for the specific frictions of cross-border PE in Latin America.

Investor meeting — document review
For Investors

Investor-Side Advisory

Due diligence, side-letter negotiation, cross-border structuring, and transaction coordination for family offices and institutional allocators.

Learn more →
GP presentation — fundraise pitch
For Fund Managers

GP & Fundraise Support

Investor-readiness preparation, LatAm LP expectations, fundraise execution, and regional closing coordination.

Learn more →
Negotiation — side letter markup
Shared Capability

Side-Letter & Negotiation

Benchmarking, strategy, and complexity management for the document that matters most in every commitment.

Learn more →
Process — workflow diagram
Methodology

Our Approach

We integrate with your counsel, align with your timeline, and work at the speed your transaction demands.

How we work →
Background — Chilean coastline, warm light
When your international counsel says they can handle Latin America, ask them how many AFP side-letter negotiations they have closed.
Alfonso Muñoz Balharry · Founding Partner
12+
Years of transaction experience
4
Languages across the team
2
Sides of the table
7
Languages spoken total

The team

Alfonso Muñoz B. — portrait

Alfonso Muñoz Balharry

Founding Partner
12+ years. Former Legal Manager at PICTON. Dual buy-side and sell-side PE experience across Latin America.
ES · EN · PT · FR
Valentina Portugués — portrait

Valentina Portugués

Associate
4+ years. Graduated with honors, UAI. Former associate at EDN Abogados, Investment Funds team.
ES · EN · DE

Latest insights

View all →
Article
14
Apr
Investor

What Latin American LPs actually ask for in side letters

The provisions that matter most and why your international counsel may miss them.

Read More →
Article
08
Apr
Fund Manager

Preparing your fund documents for Chilean AFPs

Regulatory and diligence requirements that delay LatAm fundraises.

Read More →
Article
01
Apr
Market

Cross-border PE fundraising: 2026 outlook

Capital flows, regulatory shifts, and what to expect this year.

Read More →

Let's have a
real conversation

No pitch decks. No sales pressure. A direct discussion about your transaction.

Schedule 30 minutes →
cross-border PE advisory

Precision where
Latin American
capital connects

International fund structures meet Latin American investor requirements. The gap between them costs time, capital, and commitments. We close that gap.

12+
Years experience
2x
Buy & sell side
4/4
Languages
LatAm
Regional focus
Santiago financial district — aerial
Transaction Support

Investor Advisory

Conference room — negotiation
Cross-Border

Side-Letter Expertise

Modern office — data screens
Fund Manager

GP Readiness

Image strip: 3-column edge-to-edge image grid with hover-reveal overlays. Creates visual richness and signals breadth of capability without text-heavy sections. Each image links to a capability area. Inspired by Leroux's full-width image bands.
capabilities

Two sides of the same transaction

Investor — family office setting

Investor-Side Advisory

Due diligence, side-letter negotiation, cross-border structuring, and transaction coordination for LatAm allocators.

Explore investor capabilities →
GP — fundraise presentation

GP & Fund Manager Support

Investor-readiness, document optimization, fundraise execution, and regional closing coordination.

Explore GP capabilities →
Video — Alfonso discussing cross-border PE landscape
Why Cardonal

The advisory that closes the gap

International counsel handles the fund structure. Local counsel handles the jurisdiction. Nobody handles the space between them — until now.

Learn more →

Why firms choose Cardonal

Dual-Side Perspective

Buy-side and sell-side experience creates negotiation intelligence single-perspective firms cannot offer.

Regional Depth

Granular understanding of how LatAm investors evaluate, negotiate, and decide.

Transaction Speed

Direct senior access. No associate layers. Deal-pace responsiveness.

Side-Letter Expertise

Deep benchmarking on provisions LatAm LPs prioritize.

Counsel Integration

Additive regional intelligence alongside your existing counsel.

Multilingual Execution

ES, EN, PT, FR, DE across the team. No translation lag.

methodology

Four phases to closing

1

Scope

Define mandate, stakeholders, timeline

2

Prepare

Align documents to counterparty expectations

3

Execute

Negotiate, coordinate, resolve in real time

4

Close

Finalize documentation, complete transaction

Process — abstract architectural geometry

Latest insights

View all →
Article
14 Apr
investor

What LatAm LPs actually ask for in side letters

Provisions that matter and why international counsel misses them.

Read →
Article
08 Apr
fund manager

Preparing fund documents for Chilean AFPs

Regulatory requirements that delay LatAm fundraises.

Read →
Article
01 Apr
market

Cross-border PE 2026: LatAm outlook

Capital flows, shifts, and expectations.

Read →

Ready to close
your next deal?

30 minutes. Direct conversation. No pitch deck required.

Schedule a conversation →