JHSF Participacoes plans to launch a Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario (FII) in brazil’s domestic market, it says. The developer has started the registration process to raise equity in a vehicle invested in its properties. JHSF declines to provide additional comment. The developer of commercial, retail, and residential properties has previously raised funds in Brazil’s equity and domestic bond markets.
Category: Equity
Agrenco Seeks Investors
Agrenco, a Brazilian commodities trader in bankruptcy, has initiated the process to seek outside investors, it says. It has hired an advisor to create “data room” for prospective buyers, though it does not name this advisor and was unavailable for comment. “The company believes that, with the entry of a strategic investor and the implementation of operational capacity at its industrial facilities, the value of the company and of its BDRs will increase significantly, it says. An investment of $10m would allow it to ramp-up operations. Its BDR shares closed at BRL0.29 Monday. Agrenco filed for Bankruptcy protection in 2008.
Suzano Holders Convert Bonds
Holders of about BRL1.2bn ($594m) of Suzano’s convertible domestic bonds have converted them into equity, the Brazilian pulp company says. The debentures become 332.9m in shares, bringing the company’s total to 1.11bn outstanding, and a 43% free float. Bonds representing 2.7m shares were sold in 2005, pay TJLP+2.5% and mature in December. Bonds representing 330.3m shares were sold last year, paying ICPA+4.5% and maturing 2013. BNDES held most of the two issuances.
AMX Closes in on Telmex Delisting
America Movil is seeking to complete the process to delist its Telmex unit by offering to buy the remaining 2.79% percent of the fixed-line company’s shares still outstanding, it says. Last year the Carlos Slim-controlled wireless operator bought a large chunk of the outstanding stock last year, and held 97.2% of Telmex as of April. In the latest offer, AMX is offering 10.225 pesos ($0.78) per share, equivalent to last year’s offer after accounting for dividends. Telmex shares, which trade infrequently, closed at MXP10.01 Friday. AMX will ask regulators for permission to do the tender “in the coming days.”
Batista Gets LLX Approval
Brazil’s LLX has received shareholder approval to move ahead with a share buyback and delisting operation, it says. Controller Eike Batista is aiming to buy up the shares he doesn’t own, in an operation that could cost more than BRL620m ($307m), based on a BRL3.13 per share price he proposed. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has been hired to determine the value of the shares. Minority holder Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) is also to take a greater stake through the operation. LLX does not give an indication of the timing of the offer. LLX closed Friday at BRL3.19. The move towards a strategic partner and away from the public markets is consistent with the trend at EBX, which this year has put off a public listing and sold more than $2bn in private stakes to the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and to GE.
Miner Cancels IPO Plan
Manabi, a pre-operational Brazilian iron ore miner, has withdrawn its plans to raise funds through an IPO, it says. The company founded last year had filed in May for an all-primary share offer to raise funds to develop its Morro Pilar and Morro Escuro projects in the state of Minas Gerias. The offer was never launched, joining a handful other Brazilian deals which had targeted a pricing in the June-July window. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Itau were managing the sale.
Endesa Seeks to Win Over Minority
Spain’s Endesa plans to go ahead with an $8.02bn capital increase at its Chilean unit Enersis only if it can gain minority shareholder support, it says. “Endesa wants to make clear it only wants to go through with this operation if there is a broad consensus,” it says. Endesa planned to participate with up to $4.86bn in assets, a valuation arrived at by an outside source. Shareholders, particularly pension funds holding more than 10% of Enersis, and analysts have opposed the planned capital increase, saying the Endesa assets are overvalued. Regulators also found a conflict of interest in the plans, and imposed conditions – including a second valuation of its assets – that Enersis accepted. Enersis plans to use proceeds from the capital increase, designed to streamline Endesa’s holdings in LatAm, to fund merger and acquisition opportunities, advance greenfield projects and buy minority interests.
La Polar Sets Minimum Price
Chile’s La Polar has set a minimum price of CLP160 ($0.33) for the 750m shares it plans to sell in an equity capital increase, it says. The retailer is targeting a minimum CLP120bn ($248m) sale. La Polar plans to starta roadshow in the next three weeks and conclude the sale by October. The retailer plans to visit Chile, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Brazil to market the deal, according to remarks from Chairman Cesar Barros cited recently in local media. The retailer set aside nearly $1bn-equivalent in loan loss provisions last year amid accusations of fraud after the company arbitrarily overcharged its credit clients and is undergoing the increase as part of a $900m restructuring with creditors. Creditors recently granted an extension to October 29 to complete the equity sale. Celfin is managing the capital raise, and Lazard is the advisor on the restructuring.
PE Fundraising Down, Investment Up: EMPEA
Private equity fundraising targeting LatAm has dropped in 1H 2012, but investment is up in the region, according to Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) data. The region saw $1.41bn invested in the first half, up from $1.25bn in 1H 2011. LatAm focused private equity raised $1.65bn in the period, which is down from $4.15bn from the corresponding period in 2011. Brazil was the most targeted region, with $675m raised and $1.27bn invested, compared with $3bn raised and $977m invested in the corresponding period of 2011.
Santander Puts Mexican Foot Forward
Santander has made initial filings for the IPO of its Mexican unit, a transaction bankers say the Spanish bank will hope to get in motion as soon as possible in September. The deal, expected to raise at least $2bn and perhaps as much as $4bn, is seen as the best chance of reviving the region’s equity markets in the second half of the year. Global volatility and international investor bearishness make a turnaround in the region’s ECM market unlikely, but bankers agree the first step towards broader activity would be a sizeable deal that is well demanded and pops in the secondary market. “If Santander works, and the buyside makes money on it, it could really propel the market. If the market is open, with a US rally and no new bad news in Europe, there could be a decent second half,” says a New York ECM banker. This is a best case scenario, he adds, and issuers will be challenged to get deals filed and priced in the September-October window with second quarter numbers. There are also a handful of other $1bn-plus deals in the pipeline, he notes. Santander contemplates floating at least 21.7% of the Mexican bank, and the sale will include both international and local tranches, according to regulatory documents. The sale is to include both primary and secondary shares. Proceeds from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes. The bank also unveiled the full lineup of managers. UBS, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch join Santander on the global coordinator tier. Barclays, Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and RBC are joint bookrunners. Banamex, BBVA Bancomer and HSBC join Santander on the local portion. The specific timing of the sale remains to be determined.
