OSX to Brave IPO Waters

In the midst of rough market conditions that have resulted in pulled deals and rocky pricings, OSX, Eike Batista’s oil and gas shipping unit, has filed for an IPO via Credit Suisse and Itau BBA. The company had previously filed a charter stating its board had authorized an equity capital raise of BRL10bn. In another recent development, OSX has picked Hyundai, the Korean industrial that specializes in offshore platforms, to be a partner in OSX. Hyundai is taking a minority stake in exchange for helping assemble a shipyard in the south of Brazil. OSX is likely to count substantially on financing from the BNDES to build the facility, according to executives close to the startup. In addition OSX, which is operating at a loss, will look to the bank market and private investors for additional capital to build up facilities and projects, it says in the prospectus. It also notes that EBX, Batista’s holdco, can provide guarantees to back financing.