BancBoston Securities Inc. last week said it formed an emerging markets mergers-and-acquisitions team.
The group is headed by Jeffrey Bistrong in Boston. It includes four professionals in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and is responsible for cross-border M&A advice to clients in Latin America and the United States.
Mr. Bistrong reports to Peter Lombard, managing director and head of M&A at BancBoston Securities.
The recent volatility of emerging markets may have created M&A opportunities there, said Mr. Lombard, but it was not a factor in establishing the group.
"We have been in Latin America for a long, long time," said Mr. Lombard. "We have seen the vicissitudes of the economies down there and the cycles, and we take a very long-term view."
BankBoston Corp. has had a continuous presence in Brazil since 1947, and in Argentina since 1917. It has nearly 750 corporate relationships in Brazil, said Mr. Lombard, primarily with middle-market companies.
Initially, the team will focus on opportunities in Brazil and will eventually expand to cover other countries, including Argentina and Chile, said Mr. Lombard.