South America’s commodity powerhouses rely on infrastructure corridors to move product to market. Few are as critical — or as underappreciated — as the Paraná–Paraguay Waterway, a 4,000-kilometer river system running through Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay that links inland production basins to global export routes.
For landlocked Paraguay and Bolivia, the waterway is not optional infrastructure; it is the backbone of trade. It carries grains, liquids and minerals at a scale and cost that road and rail cannot match. The five countries it traverses account for more than half of global soybean output, according to the US Department of Agriculture, underscoring the corridor’s global strategic relevance.
Against that backdrop, the 2025 sale of Atria Soluciones Logísticas, one of the largest and most sophisticated operators on the waterway, stands out as SME Deal of the Year. The acquisition by US-based Rocktree marked Paraguay’s largest M&A transaction in roughly five years and capped a long-term private equity value-creation strategy — while also setting a new benchmark for acquisition financing in the region’s river logistics sector.
Atria was sold by Southern Cross Group, which had spent several years reshaping the business from a traditional river services provider into an integrated logistics and infrastructure platform. Today, Atria operates more than 460 pushboats and barges, two onshore ports, an offshore floating crane, a repair facility and the most modern shipyard in the region, alongside other strategic land-based assets.
“We did a lot of work to transform Atria from a service provider to an infrastructure company. We invested in ports and other infrastructure, because this is an industry that continues to mature in the region,” says Agustín Sánchez, a partner at Southern Cross for Argentina and Brazil.
That repositioning proved decisive in attracting international interest. The asset was marketed not only for its scale and cash-flow resilience, but also as a critical link in Mercosur’s export infrastructure — a corridor responsible for the majority of Paraguay’s exports and a significant share of regional agricultural flows.
The transaction was notable for its financing structure. In connection with the acquisition and Rocktree’s broader expansion plans, the buyer secured private credit financing of up to $350 million from the Blue Ocean maritime investment platform managed by EnTrust Global, a global alternative asset manager. The facility underpinned the acquisition and provided additional capacity for organic investment and follow-on M&A.
The use of private credit — rather than traditional bank debt — marked a milestone for Paraguay’s M&A market and for the Paraná–Paraguay Waterway ecosystem. It highlighted the growing appetite of global private lenders for infrastructure-backed logistics platforms in Latin America, particularly where assets are mission-critical and long-term demand is structurally supported by global commodity flows.
For Rocktree, the acquisition fits squarely within a broader corridor-control strategy. The group already operates iron-ore shuttle and floating terminal systems in Uruguay and maintains logistics and infrastructure platforms across Africa and Asia. The addition of Atria extends that model into one of the world’s most important agricultural export systems.
“South America’s resource base makes it indispensable to the global economy,” says Daniele Pratalongo, Rocktree’s founder and CEO. “By investing in platforms like Atria, we are not simply expanding our footprint — we are securing and upgrading the physical corridors that make global trade possible.”
Sustainability also played a central role in the investment case and lender engagement. River barge transportation is already the lowest-emissions option for bulk commodities. Under Southern Cross ownership, Atria advanced initiatives including sustainable aviation fuel feedstock logistics and the development of a “green” pusher capable of running on alternative fuels with materially lower emissions and improved operating efficiency.
For Southern Cross, the sale crystallized the value of a disciplined operational and capital investment program. For Rocktree, it delivered a scalable South American platform backed by substantial private credit financing. For Paraguay’s M&A market, the Atria transaction set a new benchmark — not just in size, but in sophistication — showing how institutional capital, private credit and essential infrastructure can converge in a single, high-impact deal.
Rocktree Acquisition of Atria Soluciones Logísticas from Southern Cross
Lead M&A counsel to Southern Cross: Salaverri Burgio Wetzler Malbran
Exclusive Sell-Side Financial Advisor: BNP Paribas
Exclusive Buy-Side Financial Advisor: Evercore