Category: Equity

The World Bank and the IMF have formally approved the HIPC debt forgiveness initiative which will see Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua benefit from a total of $2.88 billion of debt forgiveness. The approval came at the weekend during the World Bank-IMF Spring meeting in Washington, DC. Fourteen other developing nations worldwide will also benefit from the program which was proposed by the World Bank and IMF and agreed by governments around the world in the fall of 1996. However, the World Bank also issued a warning to developing nations not to fall into the same cycle of debt.

Brazilian agribusiness Companhia Brasileira de Propriedades Agricolas (Brasilagro) is set to float its stock on the São Paulo Stock Exchange at the beginning of May with a primary offering of 432,000 common shares. The shares will be listed on the Novo Mercado section of the exchange, which has more rigorous reporting requirements. Brasilagro will sell the shares to local investors and qualified US investors under Rule 144a. The underwriter for the offer is Credit Suisse.

Brazilian manufacturer Duratex has raised $260 million via a share offering on the São Paulo Stock Exchange. The company sold a total of 12.761 million shares, comprising 4.5 million common shares through a primary offering and 8.261 million preferred shares in a secondary offering. Shares were valued at 43.50 reales each and were sold to investors in Brazil and to qualified investors in the US under Rule 144a. Duratex, owned by Itaúsa Group, manufactures wood products, sanitary vitreous chinaware and metal fittings aimed at the furniture industry and the civil construction sectors.

Grupo Abril, Brazil’s largest publishing and print group, is to float its stock on the São Paulo Stock Exchange. The family-owned company sold a 13.8% stake two years ago to US investment fund Capital Group for $50 million as part of a larger restructuring of the media group, which has been ongoing since 2003. Grupo Abril publishes seven out of 10 of the country’s most popular magazines, including Veja – one of the world’s best-selling weekly publications. Its wider media interests include a 70% stake in MTV Brasil.

Brazil state-owned oil producer Petrobras is to make a public offering of its shares via the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, probably in the last week of March. It will be the first foreign company to seek a local listing on the exchange since the country’s financial meltdown in 2001. According to Petrobras, it has been seeking to issue shares since it acquired local energy company Perez Companc in August 2002. Further details of the offering are due to be published on Friday.

Meantime, the delayed sale of Colombian state-owned gas distributor Empresa Colombiana de Gas (Ecogás) finally got underway yesterday, Monday, with the publication of details of the IPO on offer to Ecogás-affiliated workers and pensioners. The IPO comprises 75 million shares of the newly formed Transportadora de Gas del Interior (TGI) on offer at a price of 10,000 pesos per share. A second tranche of shares will be offered to the public if any remain after the IPO. The sale of Ecogás will bring to an end the involvement of the government in the natural gas industry.

Argentine Nuevo Banco Bisel, under administration by state-run Banco Nación since 2002, is to be put on the block next week. Shares of the Rosario-based bank will be up for sale with the closing date for offers set at March 27. This is the third time Banco Nación has tried to sell Banco Bisel, formerly a subsidiary of French bank Crédit Agricole. The first attempt was in 2003, the second earlier this year. Interested parties include local banks Banco Patagonia, Nuevo Banco de Santa Fe, Banco de Santiago del Estero. Banco Bisel is the country’s 19th largest bank in terms of deposits.

Mexico successfully raised $870 million from its largest IPO in 10 years with the sale last Friday of the government’s 85% stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP), the country’s largest airport operator. The Mexican government sold 29 million ADRs priced at $21 each and 124 million B shares in the local market at 22.03 pesos. The share price of ADRs on the first day of trading was up 35%, while the share price in the local market rose 34%. The government could eventually garner up to $1 billion from the sale if underwriters exercise a greenshoe option to sell additional ADRs and B shares within the next 30 days. Air travel is expected to explode this year in Mexico following the entry of two low-cost carriers and the imminent arrival of two more.

Chilean investment company Elesur, controlled by holding company Enersis (in turn part of Endesa), is to float on the Santiago Stock Exchange later this week. Last October, Elesur merged with local electricity distributor Chilectra, also controlled by Enersis, in a move that Enersis says will make savings of around $190 million over the next few years in operational and financial costs.

Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario (Pacific Airport Group) has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the US to launch an IPO of Series B shares. The shares will be issued by existing shareholders in the form of ADS and Series B shares. The underwriters for the issue are Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Santander Investment.