Brazilian rental car provider Unidas has agreed to buy 100% of Best Fleet Locadora de Veiculos, it says, for an expected BRL185m ($91m). The price is subject to adjustments at the time of closing. Best Fleet, focused on vehicle sales and fleet management in the corporate sector, is part of Grupo SHC, a distributor for Jaguar and Citroen in Brazil controlled by businessman Sergio Habib. A Unidas investor relations official did not respond to a request for additional comment.
Category: M&A
Posted inDaily Brief
Anglo American Unloads Mine
Anglo American and joint venture partner Cliffs Natural Resources have agreed to sell the Amapa iron ore operation in Brazil to Zamin Ferrous, Zamin says, for an undisclosed amount. Anglo had been seeking to sell its 70% share since last year, and insists it is an asset it never planned to hold. Anglo bought control of the 4.8m ton-per-year project in Northern Brazil from MMX in 2008, as part of the $5.5bn Minas Rio acquisition. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and expected to close by the end of the year. Zamin operates in Brazil and Uruguay.
Posted inDaily Brief
Caixa Buys Mining Stake from BNDESPar
BNDESPar has sold its 17.2% stake in Brazilian miner Paranapanema to Caixa Economica Federal, Paranapanema says. It does not state an exact value, though the 54.99m shares involved are worth BRL248m ($122m) at Friday’s BRL4.51 closing price. The copper and fertilizer specialist says the transaction does not affect its controlling group structure.
Posted inDaily Brief
Argie IT Firm Gets International Investment
US-based communications services group WPP has agreed to acquire a 20% stake in Argentine IT firm Globant for $70m, Globant says. The firm is present in several LatAm countries and has grown through acquisitions since 2003, boosted by private equity funds from investors including Endeavor Catalyst, Riverwood Capital and FTV Capital. Most recently it has acquired US-based mobile technology firm Nextive and Brazilian developer Terra Forum.
Posted inDaily Brief
Braskem Unloads Water Treatment Assets
Brazil’s Braskem has sold BRL652m ($318m) in water treatment assets to Odebrecht Ambimental, it says. The transaction includes 100% of the Aguas Camacari treatment facility and 54% of the Cetrel treatment services provider. The two are responsible for treating industrial waste at the Camacari petrochemical complex in the state of Bahia. “The asset sale is strategically positive as it reinforces the company’s commitment to a [deleveraging] process and to its strategy of focusing on its petrochemical core business. Nevertheless, Braskem still faces challenges to recover its operating cash flow generation and to effectively sustain a deleverage process in order to avoid the current negative pressure on its ratings,” Fitch says in a report, calling the effect of the transaction neutral to Braskem’s BBB minus credit ratings.
Posted inDaily Brief
Aval Snares BBVA Colombia Pension
BBVA continues to sell off its LatAm pension businesses, with Grupo Aval’s Porvenir picking up the BBVA Horizonte operation in Colombia for $530m, the Spanish bank says. Aval beat out a field of bidders said to include Chile’s Habitat and fellow Colombian Grupo Sura to buy Horizonte, part of a regional package that BBVA has been looking to divest since May. The deal comes at about 13.6x expected earnings, in line with the 13x-14x level it fetched when selling its Mexican pension to Banorte for $1.73bn in November. Following the Mexican and Colombian sales, the pension assets in Chile and Peru remain on the block. Goldman Sachs has been advising BBVA on the sale process.
Posted inDaily Brief
Bolivia Takes Iberdrola Units
Bolivia’s government has nationalized two electric utilities controlled by Spain’s Iberdrola, according to the country’s energy ministry. Officials justified the takeover of Electricidad de La Paz and Luz y Fuerza de Oruro on the grounds that Bolivian consumers should have better electricity rates and improved quality of service. The government plans to offer compensation to Iberdrola within 180 business days. In June, the government took over Glencore International’s Colquiri zinc and tin mine, which followed the nationalization of an electricity transmission company owned by Spain’s Red Electrica. The nationalization moves have yet to significantly deter foreign investment, with Bolivia selling $500m in bonds at a 4.875% yield in October.
Posted inDaily Brief
Chilean Unloads Hydro
Chile’s CGE has sold the Ibener hydroelectric unit to Duke Energy International for $415m, it says. The deal includes the Peuchen and Mampil generation assets totaling 140 megawatts of capacity. The US-based power company, operating in Chile since buying a gas-fired plant in July, expects to fund about half of the purchase price with a bank loan. Citi advised Duke, and JPMorgan advised CGE.
Posted inMagazine
DEAL OF THE YEAR: Domestic M&A Deal
Telefónica Moviles Colombia / Colombia Telecomunicaciones