Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. is a massive financial entity in Colombia controlled by the the wealthiest magnate in the country and prominent billionaire Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo. In fact, beginning in the early 1970s after being involved in residential real estate development across the nation since the late 1950s when he began building civil projects as a contractor for the municipal government of the city of Bogotá, his brother Guillermo gave him the idea to engage in the banking sector stemming from the need to finance eager homebuyers for his several residential property developments. As a consequence, it was in the early 1970s when he envisioned the idea to make the concept a reality by founding the residential mortgage bank known yet today as Banco de Ahorro y Vivienda Las Villas S.A. Moreover, soon after launching the residential mortgage bank he bought control of a commercial bank known as Banco de Occidente S.A. and then later in the mid-1980s he consolidated his growing financial empire by acquiring a majority shareholding in one of the biggest commercial banks in the country known as Banco de Bogotá S.A. during a bidding war where contestants bid up the price of the entity exponentially but eventually winning the auction to buy control of the bank from Grupo Bolívar S.A. which now competes with Grupo Aval after controlling another major commercial bank in the country known as Banco Davivienda S.A.
Altogether, after grouping his financial holdings under the umbrella known as Grupo Aval in the late 1990s comprising three commercial banks, an investment bank, a residential mortgage bank, a leasing company and a pension fund management business, Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo decided to expand the business internationally and as a consequence, the group bought the biggest commercial bank throughout Central America known as BAC Credomatic S.A. for a price of $ 1.9 billion from General Electric Corporation and Carlos Pellas Chamorro of Nicaragua back in 2011. In addition, just recently in 2013 the Colombian billionaire bought the local unit in Panama of Spanish banking titan BBVA for roughly $ 500 million. Accordingly, he merged the unit with the other local unit of BAC Credomatic in Panama and nowadays the combined wholly-owned subsidiary represents one the biggest financial entities in a country whose economy is healthy and growing steadily while attracting skilled migrants and foreign investment thanks to its status as a tax haven and where the currency in circulation happens to be the American dollar.
To conclude, the massive financial entity went public on the New York Stock Exchange leading a seasoned equity offering that raised a staggering $ 1.265 billion earlier this year while currently trading there as an ADR under the ticker symbol (AVAL). Consequently, the group controlled by prominent Colombian billionaire Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo is well positioned to keep on expanding internationally by hunting different prays the group has enough muscle to chew and swallow successfully. Indeed, trading for nearly $ 15 billion of market value while holding assets hovering $ 80 billion and employing approximately 60,000 people, the group has $ 5 billion in cash on hand and expected to close the year with around $ 10 billion of total consolidated revenues. Firmly and strategically, the Colombian billionaire and richest tycoon in the country has led an astute expansion after a careful implemented buying spree while increasing his net worth exponentially in the last 10 years thanks to his acumen as a self-made businessman as well as a rally in the Colombian stock market being one of the best performing stock markets worldwide throughout the last handful years.