Category: Corporate & Sovereign Strategy

Gustavo Marin has broadened his responsibilities beyond CEO of Citi in Brazil to cover all of the bank’s businesses in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Fernando Concha has meanwhile been promoted to head all Citi’s businesses in Central America and the Caribbean, in addition to current responsibility for Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia. And Manuel Medina Mora, CEO of Citi LatAm and Mexico has tapped Raul Anaya to join Citi’s global consumer banking council, which he leads. Anaya will work with Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, North America and LatAm in a collaborative partnership. “Together, they will ensure consistency in the implementation of our strategy in the key global segments, and the adoption of best practices in the global consumer business,” says Medina Mora. Anaya was previously responsible for the integration of Citi’s operations in Central America. All changes are effective April 1. Citi is expected to name soon replacements for Brazil staff lost in a recent raid by Goldman Sachs.

Mauricio Botelho, CEO of Embraer from 1995-2007, has acquired a 40% stake in Arsenal Financas. The boutique is the former corporate finance arm of Arsenal, whose asset management arm was sold to hedge fund Gavea Investimentos in September. “In the context that Brazil finds itself in today there are two areas that are going to see a tremendous amount of activity: infrastructure and retail,” Botelho tells LatinFinance. He points to the strong expected investments by the government and private sectors in everything from waste management to energy, and observes an expansion in real income by Brazil’s population that will inevitably fuel high consumption in the coming years. Still, there is no particular bias at the shop to a specific type of sector or M&A transaction, adds Botelho. The executive has paid an undisclosed amount for a 41% stake in Arsenal Financas. Another 51% is owned by co-founder Jose Eduardo Lacerda, a former Credit Suisse banker, while the remainder is held by other individuals. Botelho and Lacerda are joint managing partners of the boutique, which also has another 10 bankers. “The value we bring here is our independence and lack of bias other than providing a solution to our clients,” says Botelho, in a familiar claim by boutique bankers. “We don’t do financing or proprietary trading and we don’t have a fund,” he adds. The shop has executed more than 30 deals in the past 5 years and has several live mandates, says Botelho.

Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao, the major Brazilian retailer, has appointed Eneas Cesar Pestana Neto as CEO, in line with expectations. Jose Antonio Filippo was appointed CFO and the company has removed its COO position. Pestana has been with CBD unit Grupo Pao de Acucar since 2003, while Filippo was previously CFO and IR officer at CPFL Energia. Claudio Galeazzi was appointed by CBD 2 years ago to help prepare a CEO from inside the company. Galeazzi will continue participating in and contributing to management. He will also coordinate all Galeazzi & Associados’ projects with the group, including integration of Globex and Casas Bahia. CBD operates in 18 states in all regions of Brazil and the federal district. CBD had an extremely active 2009, highlighted by the BRL870 June deal to buy Globex, the controller of the Ponto Frio chain, and the December announcement of a merger with retailer Casas Bahia.

Scotiabank’s Chile unit has issued UF4m ($160m) in 2018 local bonds, says Daniel Orellana, CEO of Scotia Sud Americano Corredores de Bolsa, which managed the sale. He adds that total demand surpassed UF6m. The bonds priced at 100.93 with a 3.20% coupon to yield 2.97%, a spread of 100bp over the 5-year central bank BCU5 bonds. Proceeds will go to strengthen working capital.