Aliansce Tests IPO Waters

Aliansce is set to price an IPO today, marking the first new equity deal of the year and the end of a drawn out filing period for the Brazilian shopping mall manager, which first resubmitted plans to issue last September. The company had initially hoped to issue in 2007 to raise around BRL330m. Today’s offer could generate around BRL1bn if done at the midpoint of the BRL10.00-BRL13.00 range, and all of the greenshoe and hot issue shares are placed. Itau BBA, BTG Pactual, JPMorgan and Bradesco BBI are leading the trade, with pricing expected late Wednesday.