Category: Equity

Sateri International Group, a Brazil and China-based wood-based specialty cellulose producer, has filed a listing application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to Dow Jones and Reuters. Sateri, controlled by Indonesian businessman Sukanto Tanoto, had previously been reported to target a $1bn equity raise. Sateri owns and manages forests in Brazil and operates a mill in China. The company was unavailable for comment late Monday EST.

Colombian regulators have approved Banco Davivienda’s plans for an IPO, the Colombian bolsa says. The market now awaits the financial group’s publication of terms and the setting of a pricing date, with local brokers optimistic that a deal for as much as $500m equivalent could happen by the end of August. The bank’s management has authorized a program to sell 50m shares, and plans to sell 26m in the IPO. Corredores Associados is the lead coordinator on the sale, according to brokers. The IPO would be the first in Colombia since Helm Banco de Credito raised $113m December 2007, according to Dealogic.

HRT Participacoes has filed to IPO on the Bovespa, according to regulatory documents. The Brazilian oil and gas operator is looking for funds to develop blocks in Brazil and Africa it has won since entering the E&P space last year. It held 2 private share sales in 2009 to raise BRL479m, according regulatory documents and counts MSD Capital, Perella Weinberg Capital and Senator Investment among shareholders. According to the filing, 75% of the proceeds from the IPO will go to exploration in Brazil’s Solimoes basin, 15% for exploration at offshore blocks in Namibia, 2% for exploration in other Brazilian blocks and 8% for other projects. What became HRT was founded in 2004 as its oil services arm, IPEX, by a group of former Petrobras and ANP executives, and would move enter exploration and production in 2009. HRT gives no information as to the number of shares for sale or the timing. Credit Suisse is global coordinator, with Citi and Goldman Sachs as bookrunners. Several Brazilian issuers are waiting for IPOs or follow-ons, with nothing expected until September. The market awaits a $30bn follow-on from Petrobras, which is expected at some point in September, though if that offer is delayed, smaller equity deals may try to price ahead of it.

Repsol YPF is targeting Q4 of this year for its Brazil IPO, independent of what happens with the expected $30bn follow-on from Petrobras. “Our initial idea is to go to the markets behind Petrobras, and if Petrobras really delays the process, our goal is to aim for the last quarter of this year,” COO Miguel Martinez says on an earnings webcast. Repsol has said it could spin off as much as 40% of its assets In Brazil to fund increased investment needs. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse are heard with the mandate. Repsol YPF has also been looking to raise as much as $3bn through a New York and Buenos Aires stock offering. BNP, Credit Suisse and Itau were advising on that.

Peruvian microfinancier MiBanco is preparing to issue a Tier 2 bond in the domestic market after putting a NYSE IPO on hold, according to a finance official at the bank. The terms are not yet set, though a 10-year note at a size of about PES150m could be expected. Citi is managing the transaction, which should come in the next 1-2 months. The bank has been weighing fundraising options in recent months, including a New York IPO which has been put on hold for the moment, says the official. Citi was heard to have that mandate as well.

Mexico’s Grupo House has opted to wait on pricing its local IPO. It had been planning to price late last week or early this week, but has decided to “postpone the closing of the books for the next few weeks,” it says. The transaction could raise as much as MXP562m, with the issuer set to sell 88.9m shares, or 115.5m if a greenshoe and hot issue are exercised, at MXP4.50-MXP5.50, according to regulatory documents. BofA Merrill Lynch is managing the transaction. The operator of the Arrachera House, Taqueria House and Sixties chains would register under the SAPIB designation for smaller issuers.

Shares of Canadian oil company Canacol began trading on the Colombian stock exchange yesterday under the symbol CNEC. The shares opened at COP1,743 and closed at COP1,875. Canacol did not issue new shares. Instead, it is allowing common shares that are currently trading on the TSX Venture Exchange to be traded through the BVC. The company has 11 exploration and production blocks in Colombia and plans to invest $37m in the country. It also has operations in Guyana and Brazil. Citi handled the BVC listing.

Mexico’s Grupo House is set to finish pricing an IPO within the next few days, according to a banker managing the sale. The transaction could raise as much as MXP562m, with the issuer set to sell 88.9m shares, or 115.5m if a greenshoe and hot issue are exercised, at MXP4.50-MXP5.50, according to regulatory documents. BofA Merrill Lynch is managing the transaction.

HRT Participacoes, a Brazilian oil and gas E&P operator, is planning to float on the Bovespa. An IR official says documents are being filed with regulators, but declines to give any additional information about the IPO. HRT, which also has an oil services arm, IPEX, was founded in 2004, and held two private share sales in 2009, according to its website. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is heard with a mandate.

Regional equity expert Sebastien Chatel is no longer heading Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s LatAm ECM operation, though he remains employed by the bank as a “consultant” on ECM matters, according to people at BAML. Gregg Nabhan, vice chair of global ECM, is now heading the LatAm team, transitioning into that role since May. Nabhan has been at BAML for over 2 years, joining from Morgan Stanley, where he had been head of LatAm ECM, among other positions. Chatel, who has been with BAML since joining Merrill from Credit Suisse in 2008, stepped down from the top LatAm equity post of his own volition, according to people familiar with the move. He was previously head of LatAm ECM at UBS and understood to be very close to BAML’s Brazil team, led by ex-UBS investment banker Alexandre Bettamio. Chatel survived the turbulent merger of Merrill and BofA, which saw the exit of Juan Vogeler, MD and co-head of LatAm ECM, as well as Ricardo Lanfranchi, MD in charge of the Brazil-based equity brokerage. Under his watch, BAML has won several large equity mandates in Brazil over the last 2 years, rising to become a top 3 underwriter by volume. Highlights include the 2009 jumbo from Santander. Most recently it managed a BRL9.76bn follow-on for Banco do Brasil. And BAML is global coordinator on Petrobras’ follow-on, which is expected to raise $25bn-$30bn later this year. BAML is also heard on deals for HRT and Repsol. It is not known how long Chatel – who is understood to be travelling on vacation for several months – will remain in his new advisory role at BAML.