How LWSA grew from web hosting to BRL 1.5 billion in revenue through M&A and strategic carve-outs
Founded in 1997 as Locaweb, one of Brazil’s first internet companies, LWSA grew into one of Latin America’s leading digital infrastructure groups for small and mid-sized businesses through a structured programme of acquisition-led diversification, consolidation, and strategic carve-outs.
From 2012, the group completed 16 acquisitions across e-commerce platforms, ERP, payments, cloud hosting, and conversational tools, with Clairfield’s partner in Brazil, Artica, as M&A advisor throughout. Today LWSA generates close to BRL 1.5 billion in revenue and employs around 3,300 people across five verticals.
In this interview for Clairfield Outlook 2026, Higor Franco, VP at LWSA, reflects on what it took to make it work and shares how the group managed growth, integration, and divestiture strategy in one of Latin America’s most dynamic tech markets:
- Implemented a formal divestiture framework, with each brand reviewed by a dedicated committee to determine whether to invest, integrate, or exit.
- Scaled to close to BRL 1.5 billion in revenue through 16 targeted acquisitions, advised by Clairfield in Brazil.
- Executed a complex sell-side carve-out of Nextios, its AWS-focused IT services business, to Ingram Micro Brazil.
Higor Franco’s central lesson:
« Each brand has its own committee that decides whether to continue investing, integrate, or rethink the business. If the business reaches the thresholds, we continue. If not, we develop alternative plans, always focusing on long-term returns and value but keeping eyes on market tendencies and movements. »
This interview is included in Clairfield’s Outlook 2026, themed « Refocus: how carve-outs turn less into more. »
Download the full publication here.
