Category: Equity

Brazilian real estate firm Klabin Segall is to follow others in the sector with the launch of its IPO set for next month. Klabin Segall is hoping to raise as much as $345 million from the flotation of its stock on the Novo Mercado of Bovespa. It plans to sell 32.3 million ordinary shares, of which 22.6 million will be offered via a primary offering. The company also has an option to issue an additional 15% of shares in the face of strong demand. Deutsche Bank and UBS will lead the issue.

Argentine Pampa Holding, part of Dolphin Group, will issue 300 million shares worth $111 million via the Stock Exchange as part of a structural reorganization and move to increase its share capital. The money will go towards completing the acquisition of two hydroelectric plants in Mendoza province and other investment plans in the sector. Dolphin bought Pampa last year with a view to using it as an investment vehicle for the electricity sector.

Brazil’s largest electric power distributor, Eletropaulo Metropolitana Eletricidade de São Paulo (Eletropaulo) is to make a secondary offering of shares via Bovespa worth up to $690 million. The company, part of Brasiliana Energia, is to sell 13.76 billion shares, with an option to sell an extra 2.04 billion in the face of strong demand. The shares will be sold to domestic investors and also to foreign investors as GDS. The sale of the shares will see AES Transgas Empreendimentos, a unit of US power firm AES, reduce its stake in Eletropaulo by around a third. AES will use the money raised to pay off $582 million of debt owed to state development bank BNDES. Credit Suisse is the lead coordinator of the operation.

Another Brazilian firm preparing to launch an IPO is Medial Saúde, one of the country’s leading health insurers. The listing on Bovespa’s Novo Mercado will be the first for a company in this sector. Medial Saúde is planning to offer 27 million common shares – 18 million via a primary offering and 9 million via a secondary offering. The company hopes to raise up to $292 million via the offerings. It also plans to issue ADRs on the international market. Credit Suisse will be the lead coordinator for the transaction. Also coordinating will be Citigroup, Banco Real and Espírito Santo Investment.

Brazilian construction firm and real estate developer Tecnisa is to follow other firms in the sector by floating its stock on the Novo Mercado section of Bovespa. The most recent company in the sector to list was Abyara, which raised $74 million from its IPO in July. Tecnisa has filed with the securities commission (CVM) to issue only common shares in primary and secondary offerings. The IPO is to be coordinated by Credit Suisse and Pactual.

Alternative energy firm Brasil Ecodiesel has applied to the Brazilian securities commission (CVM) to list part of its stock on Bovespa’s Novo Mercado, joining the 34 other companies currently quoted. The listing would be the first for the sector, reflecting the huge upswing in investor interest in biofuels as world oil prices continue to climb. According to the company, Brasil Ecodiesel is the country’s largest producer of biodiesel, a product based on soya and castor-oil, with a production capacity of around 45 million liters a year. This capacity is due to increase to 645 million liters a year by March next year following the inauguration of five new plants.

Emilio José Archila, former superintendent of industry and trade, is to be the new head of Asobolsa, the Colombian Association of Stockbrokers. The Association currently represents 28 out of the 40 firms operating on the exchange, which together account for 98% of the volume traded. Archila, a lawyer specializing in anti-trust law, will take up his position at the beginning of December.

Brazilian pharmaceuticals distributor Profarma is preparing to launch an initial public offering (IPO) via Bovespa. The Rio de Janeiro-based company is among the top three medicines distribution companies in the country, controlling 8% of the market. Profarma joins the growing list of Brazilian companies going public and follows others in the health sector such as Dasa, Medial and Odontroprev to apply to list their stock.

Brazil’s largest fixed-line telecoms operator, Telemar, has decided to pull its secondary share offering on Bovespa’s Novo Mercado because of weak market conditions. It has also postponed an extraordinary general meeting, scheduled for August 22, for some time in September, yet to be decided. The company made it clear that despite the cancellation of the share offering, the objectives of the overall restructuring of its capital remain. Back in April, Telemar announced it was to restructure its share capital and unite stock from its various companies into a single class.

São Paulo’s stock exchange, Bovespa, has picked US investment bank Goldman Sachs to prepare its IPO slated for next year, according to reports in the local press. The deal would be a real coup for Goldmans, which is strong in mergers and acquisitions in Brazil but has not led an IPO of this size since 2004. Other banks vying to prepare Latin America’s largest stock exchange for its own listing next year include Credit Suisse and UBS.