Parque Arauco, the Chilean shopping mall developer and operator, has bought 83% of the shares of Inmobiliaria Paseo de la Estacion, owner and operator of the Paseo de la Estacion Mall (MPE) for $61m. MPE’s total asset value is approximately $97m with debt of $24m, says Parque Arauco. MPE expects to generate Ebitda in 2008 of $12m, approximately 23% of Parque Arauco, consolidated 2007 Ebitda. “This purchase, and the recently announced acquisition of the Plaza El Roble Mall in Chillan, Chile, would increase Parque Arauco S.A.’s consolidated 2007 Ebitda by over 35%,” says Parque Arauco. The selling shareholders are made up of three principal families: Mujica, Santa Cruz and Yaconi, amongst others. The Chilean State Rail Company (EFE) will remain a 17% shareholder in MPE.
Yearly Archives: 2008
Petrobras Divests Argentina Stake
Petrobras Energia has sold its 40% stake in Argentine petrochemical company Petroquimica Cuyo to Admire Trading Company and Grupo Inversor Petroquimica. Petrobras said the sale price was $32m, which is expected to provide an accounting gain of about ARP39m.
Cameron Gets PDVSA Contract
Cameron, the NYSE listed provider of flow equipment products, systems and services to worldwide oil, gas and process industries, has won a PDVSA contract worth more than $190m. It will provide subsea equipment and services to the Venezuelan national oil company, starting in Q1. The contract is part of the development plan for PDVSA’s Mariscal Sucre Project, which involves the exploitation of four large natural gas fields offshore Venezuela.
Falabella to Invest $2.58bn
Chilean retailer Falabella plans to invest $2.58bn in 2008-2011, including $1.65bn on expanding department stores in Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru. The investment plan aims to increase the number of Falabella department stores to 100 from 63, Sodimac home stores to 178 from 84 and Tottus supermarkets to 45 from 29. It does not account for the planned merger with supermarket chain Servicio D&S, awaiting regulatory approval, which would create South America’s largest retailer.
FMO Takes Stake in Uruguay’s Pronto!
FMO has bought a minority stake in Pronto!, a consumer credit company in Uruguay and will also provide a long-term loan in local currency. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Pronto! is majority owned by Advent International, the global private equity firm. The company’s other shareholders include Argentine consumer credit firm Credilogros and Pronto! CEO Martín Guerra. “We have selected Pronto! as one of the best platforms in terms of management, corporate governance, credit scoring, databases, distribution network and compliance in the region,” says FMO manager Jaap Reinking. “We see this investment as a way to assist in the continued development of the consumer credit market in Uruguay.”
LatAm DCM Bucks Global Negative Trend
Bankers got $433m in DCM revenue in 2007 from LatAm and the Caribbean, according to Dealogic. This was a 12% increase from 2006. The region’s DCM volume was also up slightly, at $79.2bn in 2007 from $74.9bn in 2006. Mexico finished the year strongly, with Q4 volume up 105% over 3Q, lifting its 2007 total to $26bn. The region’s numbers are in contrast to an 8% drop in 2007 global DCM volume, to $6.06trn. Despite raising a record $3.96trn through June, a rough second half saw only $2.10trn, a 47% drop from the first half and the lowest half-year volume since 2002. Global DCM revenue totaled $22bn, almost flat to the $22.1bn in 2006. EM volume fell 7% in 2007 to $2.17trn, while revenue dropped 3% to $7.5bn, following a dramatic second-half slowdown where EM volume dropped 53% to $688.1bn from the first half.
LatAm Equity Issuance Rises 165%
LatAm equity issuance rose a whopping 165% to $53.0bn in 2007, while fee revenue climbed 163% to $1.5bn, according to Dealogic. The number of deals rose 96% during the same period to 135 from 69, reflecting a surge in smaller deals. Brazilian companies raised $32.2bn across 66 IPOs, in 2007, with two of those offerings – Bovespa and the BM&F – among the biggest 10 IPOs of the year globally. In Brazil for the first time, IPO volume matched the estimated BRL62bn that the BNDES development bank loaned to companies in the sector, a significant landmark for the country’s capital markets, while total equity issuance in Brazil in 2007 reached $41bn. In LatAm, October and July were the busiest months, with $9.6bn raised in each month from 20 and 24 deals respectively, says Dealogic.
Marfrig Buys Argentine Meat Company
The Argentine unit of Brazilian beef producer Marfrig has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of Argentine meat company Mirab for $36m. The purchase will give Marfrig its first meat snack operations in Argentina and a packaging and distribution facility that represents its first investment in North America.
Modelo Plots Canada Invasion
Mexico’s Grupo Modelo has teamed up with Canada’s Molson Coors Brewing Company to sell its beer in Canada. The pair established a long-term joint venture known as Modelo Molson Imports, to import, distribute and market the Modelo beer brand portfolio in all Canadian provinces and territories, effective January 1. The joint venture board will consist of 6 directors, half from Grupo Modelo and half from Molson, including Jose Pares, VP International Markets for Grupo Modelo, and Dave Perkins, Molson Coors Chief Strategy Officer. The 50/50 joint venture will be headquartered in Toronto and led by Robert Armstrong, previously CEO for Modelo in Canada.
PDVSA Completes $630m Cerro Negro Repurchase
Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has bought back 99% of the debt linked to the Cerro Negro oil project for $630m. The amount includes $501m for 7.33% of 2009, 7.90% of 2020 and 8.03% of 2028 bonds – including $52m paid in premiums – and $129m in bank loans from a syndicate led by ABN Amro. With the cancellation of the debt, PDVSA plans to launch a new project called Petromonagas to replace the Cerro Negro venture. PDVSA’s stake in the new company will be 83.33%, with BP owning a 16.67% minority stake. The Cerro Negro project had been a joint venture between PDVSA and Exxon Mobil, with minority participation from BP.