In a year where the thin trickle of ECM flow has been characterized by exceptional cases rather than the usual IPO and follow-on issuers, Citi, which finished in fourth place in 2007, is leading the ECM league tables with three deals and 30.16% of the underwritten deal volume, according to Dealogic. While that dominance is not expected to last very long, it indicates the shop has been busy printing deals to address a gaping hole in its 2007 LatAm franchise. Citi helped bring GP Investments’ $213m follow-on in February alongside Credit Suisse. It then underwrote its parent company’s divestiture of a stake in Brazil’s Redecard in mid-March, while its co-investors in the company chose not to sell. At $724m, that secondary offering is the largest deal to date. And a week later Citi helped Cresud raise $289m in a local rights offering in Argentina. Citi is also slated as co-lead on a $533m deal for Hypermarcas, alongside Merrill. “I don’t think they’ll still be there at the end of the first half,” says an ECM banker at a competing shop. “It’s all a question of when the market comes back,” he adds, noting once that happens, the usual suspects should regain their lead. Last year Credit Suisse and UBS Pactual led the charge by a wide margin, collecting 25% and 18% of the ECM fee pool respectively, according to Dealogic. But it may be awhile before those two regain their 2007 lead positions. A $2bn Gerdau offering scheduled for the last week of April should place JPMorgan and Itau, two other outliers, firmly at the top, with $1bn each in underwriting volume.
