Category: Equity

Financiera Independencia, the Mexican microfinance lender, was set to price late Wednesday an IPO for up to $326m equivalent in pesos. The initial range was MXP22-MXP30 and Credit Suisse is the lead. Underwriters are GBM International and HSBC. A minimum $284m was due to be sold.

Mineracao Caraiba, one of Brazil’s largest copper producers, is planning a local IPO. Caraiba is in a process of expanding its flagship mine and developing five other projects to mine copper, gold and nickel. It has not announced how many shares it will sell or at what price. UBS Pactual and Itau will lead.

Norwegian oil company Norse Energy has filed for its Brazilian subsidiary Norse Energy do Brasil to offer shares on the Bovespa. The company did not disclose how much it wants to raise. Norse Energy has interests in eight onshore and offshore oil blocks in Brazil. UBS Pactual is the lead.

Infinity Bio-Energy plans to IPO on the Bovespa in early 2008, a spokesman tells LatinFinance. The Bermuda-based Brazilian company is not yet disclosing how much it plans to raise. Proceeds will be used to develop cogeneration capabilities at its ethanol plants using sugarcane bagasse, investing its Central American activities, and expansion within Brazil.

Laep Investments, a Brazilian private equity company that holds Parmalat’s Brazilian assets, struggled to excite investors at its Monday IPO. The offering, initially peddled as 77.83m BDRs at BRL11.50-BRL15.50, was delayed three days and chopped to a BRL8.50-BRL11.50 range to reflect the less than warm reception by investors. It ended up pricing at just BRL7.50. Several domestic and international accounts LatinFinance spoke to said they were not participating, either because the company was small or because the business model was not compelling. Laep, an offshore entity, is proposing to use some of the IPO revenues to build an integrated milk processing company, a project with an unproven track record. UBS Pactual had the books, with underwriters Agora Senior Corretora de Valores and Banco Safra. The Laep flop is further evidence of pushback by investors to lesser quality or off-the-run Brazil names and suggests trouble ahead for some IPOs in the pipeline. Laep specializes in acquisition and turnarounds of Brazilian companies involved in food production and distribution. Laep is based in Bermuda.

Ashmore, the major EM investor, is planning a €500m LSE IPO through Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to give smaller investors exposure to EM special situations. The shares will be listed for Ashmore Global Opportunities Limited (AGO), a newly incorporated closed-ended investment company. It will promptly deploy proceeds across Ashmore’s EM funds, including dollar debt, local currency, equity and corporate high yield, with a principal focus on special situations, meaning private equity and distressed debt. AGO will have guaranteed capacity of up to 25% in all future Ashmore Special Situations focused funds. This will include the ability to make a commitment upon closing the IPO of up to 25% or $400m in GSSF4, Ashmore’s most recent Special Situations fund, together with the ability to make direct special situations investments. Proceeds not initially invested in GSSF4 will be invested in AMSF, Ashmore’s multi-strategy fund, and other Ashmore managed funds. Ashmore says that none of the costs of the IPO will be borne by AGO, which will have a majority of independent directors. The board will have authority to buy back up to 14.99% of shares annually. AGO will offer three classes of voting ordinary shares, trading in USD, euros and sterling.

Brazil’s Banco Panamericano today launched a roadshow for its IPO, scheduled to price November 13. The ninth mid-sized bank to come to market this year is hoping to convince investors that its unique play on lower and middle income consumer finance, as well as sponsorship by the Silvio Santos family, sets it apart from the rest. A prospectus filed with the CVM says the company will look to offer 76m shares at BRL12-BRL15, which would raise it over BRL1bn if it comes at the midpoint. In this market, that’s a big if. The roadshow has dates scheduled in London, São Paulo and New York, among others. UBS Pactual is leading, along with Itau and Bradesco.

Unidas, the Brazilian subsidiary of Portugual’s Solucoes Automoveis Globais, has filed to IPO on the Bovespa. The timeline and expected size were not disclosed. UBS Pactual and Itau are joint bookrunners.

Amil, one of Brazil’s largest healthcare service providers, was expected to price late Thursday an IPO. The company was looking to sell 100m shares at BRL13.50-BRL18.50, with bankers on the deal expecting strong interest. A banker away from the deal said it had settled at BRL14.00. Also expected to close books was Brasil Brokers, a Brazilian real estate broker looking to sell 736,000 shares at BRL950-BRL1,200, according to Dealogic. Doubts swirled around the offering as it was the latest of a long string of small real estate companies looking to sell shares, the last few of which came at hefty discounts to the proposed ranges. Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley had joint books.

Amil, one of Brazil’s largest healthcare service providers, was expected to price late Thursday an IPO. The company was looking to sell 100m shares at BRL13.50-BRL18.50, with bankers on the deal expecting strong interest. A banker away from the deal said it had settled at BRL14.00. Also expected to close books was Brasil Brokers, a Brazilian real estate broker looking to sell 736,000 shares at BRL950-BRL1,200, according to Dealogic. Doubts swirled around the offering as it was the latest of a long string of small real estate companies looking to sell shares, the last few of which came at hefty discounts to the proposed ranges. Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley had joint books.