Brazilian securities commission CVM said it has suspended a planned IPO by Azul Linhas Aereas for up to 30 days, saying the airline gave information to investors that was not in the prospectus.
Azul uploaded documents to the website RetailRoadshow that included projections on the returns on the airline’s investment in Portuguese carrier TAP, which were not included in the prospectus, CVM said.
CVM also said Azul provided confidential information on the price per share and the demand for the IPO to local media outlets, including O Estado de S. Paulo, UOL Economia and Brazil Journal.
CVM can reverse its decision in 30 days if Azul corrects the irregularities. If not, the regulator said it could cancel the IPO.
Azul had planned to price the IPO on Thursday, looking to raise as much as BRL1.9bn ($605m) from the sale of 82.8m common shares, including the greenshoe option.
The underwriters – Citi, Deutsche Bank and Itau BBA – had put the target price between BRL19 and BRL23 per share. The other bookrunners were Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, JPMorgan, Raymond James and Santander. The offering included the sale of American depositary shares for $18.02 to $21.81 apiece.
A source away from the deal said the order deals were already oversubscribed on Thursday morning.
The selling shareholders included Saleb II, Star Sabia, WP-New Air, Azul HoldCo, ZDBR, Bozano, Maracatu, Morris Azul, Trip Investimentos, Trip Participacoes and Rio Novo Locacoes.
After Azul shelved IPO plans in August 2015, it sold a 23.7% stake to China’s HNA Group for $450m. THe Brazilian airline also bought $100m in convertible securities from airline TAP Portugal in March last year as part of the agreement with HNA.