MercadoLibre Shares Leap

MercadoLibre, the LatAm equivalent of online market place eBay, priced Friday a $289.4m Nasdaq IPO at $18 on Friday, the high end of the $16-$18 range. Shares in the Argentina-based firm traded up to $29 and closed just shy of that, according to Reuters. The deal priced in the most volatile global stock market environment seen since the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Nasdaq fell 0.45% Friday but closed off the low. MercadoLibre will use proceeds to repay a loan from eBay and for general corporate purposes. EBay will own an 18.5% stake in the company after the IPO. JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch were the leads.