Fernando Aguirre, Vice Chairman of DHS Ventures, Announces Expansion in South America with $375M Acquisition of Argentinian Company

Washington, DC, USA, October 20th, 2026, FinanceWire

Pasco Argentinian food company is acquired by DHS, this Friday for $375 million, marking the company's fourth major acquisition

DHS Ventures & Holdings agreed to buy a controlling stake in Pasco, an Argentinian food company, on Tuesday for $375 million, marking the company’s fourth major acquisition in emerging markets in the past two years.

With the deal, DHS Ventures & Holdings, the Washington, DC-based private equity firm will acquire Zanca Investimentos, the controlling shareholder of Latin American pasta, biscuit, and powdered-beverage maker Pasco. The deal is expected to be finalized later this year, the company said in a news release.

“With its outstanding portfolio of popular consumer brands, Pasco is an excellent strategic fit for DHS Ventures & Holdings and our business in Latin America,” DHS Ventures Vice Chairman, Fernando Aguirre was quoted as saying Thursday. “Argentina is one of the largest economies in Latin America and this acquisition will allow us to accelerate our growth and improve our margins in the region. “This means more growth for the core Pasco business and our well-loved DHS Ventures initiatives.”

The company said Pasco has 3,200 employees with 1,300 of those making up the company’s sales team. Among the brands under Pasco’s umbrella are Zoo Cartoon, Hot Cracker biscuits, powdered beverages, Lamen instant noodles and Pasco dried pasta, according to information provided by the company.

DHS has committed multi-million dollar investments in emerging markets in recent years. Last year, the company announced a $450 million investment into Marzipan, a sales and distribution company based in West Peru; a separate $50 million acquisition of Egypt’s top cereal company, Hoshea Distribution; and it won a months-long bidding war for an 86 percent stake in Egyptian company Bisco.

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