Private equity firm Conduit Partners and multilateral Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) have acquired 81% of Peruvian Tacna and Panamericana solar projects from Spanish solar photovoltaic developers Solarpack and Gestamp Solar, according to people familiar with the deal. The 81% position in the $210m project was reached in two purchases in August and October, they say, without providing further details on the breakdown of the transaction’s parts. Panamericana is under construction and Tacna is now operational, with the projects together offering a capacity of 40MW. The project in Southern Peru represents Conduit’s first solar investment.
Category: M&A
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Sherwin Takes Comex
Sherwin-Williams has agreed to acquire Mexico’s Consorcio Comex for $2.34bn, it says. The US paint maker is to pay cash, and will also assume an unspecified amount of debt, in order to gain access to a higher-growth Mexican market. The sale of family-owned Comex is heard to come at the end of a competitive bidding process involving multiple parties. Analysts found it difficult to determine the multiple implied in the transaction, given that the target is privately held, but generally considered the deal to be positive. Sherwin says the transaction value comes at about 1.7x sales, in the only measure of valuation it divulges. Comex had total sales of $1.4bn in 2011, 34% of which came from US and Canada operations. Sherwin sees the deal doubling its business in LatAm. “While the financial details (primarily EBITDA) remain unclear, we view the deal as strategically accretive to the Sherwin-Williams franchise as it extends the company’s already impressive distribution network to Mexico and Latin America,” equity research firm Robert W. Baird says in a report. “Adding Comex provides additional exposure and scale in Latin America and should ultimately add to earnings,” Hilliard Lyons says, highlighting that Comex provides additional exposure to fast-growing markets. It is expected to benefit from Mexico’s active homebuilding sector, which is driven by government mortgage lending and favorable demographic and economic trends. Comex also offers exposure to the Western US, where Sherwin is seen as less strong. Sherwin expects the deal to be EPS dilutive in the initial quarter, and EPS accretive within 12 months. It plans to issue bonds to fund the purchase, it says. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Comex was advised by HSBC and White & Case. Jones Day was legal advisor to Sherwin, which does not respond to requests for comment on any financial advisor or additional financial details of the transaction. The sale is the largest takeover of a Mexican company b
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GP Buys into Sports Retailer
GP Investments has agreed to buy 30% of retailer Grupo SBF, it says, for BRL450m ($225m). The Brazilian private equity shop is to commit $150m from its GP Investments V fund, and the remainder from a group of unnamed co-investors. Grupo SBF is the holdco for Lojas Centauro, a sports retailer. Completion of the transaction is subject to approvals.
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Hochschild Goes After Chilean Miner
London-listed Peruvian miner Hochschild Mining has launched a bid to acquire Chile-focused exploration and development Andina Minerals for CAD103m ($103m), the companies say. The CAD0.80 per share cash offer represents a 106% premium. Andina did not run a formal auction process but has been in conversation with parties interested in the asset, with the deal coming at the upper end of recent premiums, given the mining sector’s current softness, says a person familiar with the deal. The move increases Hochschild’s resources and gives it greater leverage in an attractive jurisdiction in Chile, he says. Holders of 66.7% of Andina shares must approve the offer for it to go ahead. So far, Andina directors, senior management and shareholders representing about 14% of Andina common shares outstanding have entered lock-up agreements with Hochschild in favor of the deal. Hochschild also will give Andina a CAD1.75m loan until the deal’s close, which Andina will repay if it doesn’t get done, it says. The players have a history as joint venture partners, with Hothschild last year earning in to a 51% interest on the Encrucijada project, of which Andina owns a 49% interest, near Andina’s Dorodo Gold Deposit in Chile’s Maricunga gold belt. BMO Capital Markets is Andina’s financial advisor, and Fraser Milner Casgrain is its law firm on the deal. Hochschild is working with RBC Capital Markets and Stikeman Elliot.
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WTorre Finds Aussie Partner
Australian global commercial property player Goodman Group has entered into a joint venture with Brazil’s WTorre to develop and build logistics and industrial properties, it says. The Brazilian is to contribute four land sites with forecast value of $1.1bn to the 50/50 JV, known as WTGoodman. For its part, Goodman will contribute BRL341m ($167m) in initial capital. It is the first move into LatAm for Goodman, which claims $13bn under management globally in business parks, office parks, office buildings, industrial estates, logistics warehouses and distribution centers.
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Brasil Foods Finds Irish Partner
Brasil Foods and Ireland’s Carbery Group have agreed to form a $50m joint venture, the companies say, investing in a new whey processing facility in Brazil. The investment, for which a name has not yet been disclosed, will employ Carbery technology to Brasil Foods’ cheese-making operations in Brazil. Construction is expected to begin immediately for the facility, which Carbery says will increase its footprint in the region. Carbery is a maker of whey-based ingredients.
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Briggs & Stratton Makes Brazil Power Grab
US-based Briggs & Stratton has agreed to acquire Brazil’s Companhia Caetano Branco for about $60m, the outdoor power equipment and generator maker says. It will make the buy using cash and existing credit, and anticipates closing within three to four months. Branco’s annual sales are reported to be about $40m, and its operating margins from 13%-17%. Briggs & Stratton sees the move as part of geographic diversification and product portfolio expansion. Selling generators, water pumps and light construction equipment, Branco has about 150 employees in Brazil. The companies declined to comment on advisors or to elaborate on the terms of the sale.
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Chilean Moves for Building Materials Supplier
Chilean forestry services provider Forestal Peumo has launched an attempt to buy up to 31% of Compania Industrial El Volcan CLP41.87bn ($87m). It is offering CLP1,800 per share for up to 23m shares in a public tender open through December 6. The full amount would give Peumo a 69% position in the Chilean building materials specialist. Bice is managing. Volcan shares were at CLP1,900 each at Tuesday’s close.
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JBS Orders More Poultry
Brazil’s JBS has agreed to acquire Brazilian chicken products company Agroveneto for about BRL128m ($63m), the company says. The meatpacker will pay BRL10m in shares and take on Agroveneto’s debt. “The acquisition of Agroveneto complements JBS operations in this segment in Brazil,” the company says. The deal was handled with internal advisors, says a person familiar with the matter. Earlier this year, JBS entered the business in Brazil via a lease on three Frangosul – the export brand of French Groupe Doux’s Brazil – production facilities, also in the South of Brazil. The chicken sector in Brazil is seen as relatively fragmented, and rising grain prices are making economies of scale more of a necessity for processors. The Agroveneto unit is expected to add revenues of some BRL300m annually when it’s up and running. The plant is to become part of JBS Aves, which will then count four production facilities processing 1.34m birds a day.
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Previ Makes RE Buys
Previ, the pension fund for Banco do Brasil employees, has agreed to acquire a shopping center and two towers in the Condominio Parque da Cidade project in Sao Paulo from Odebrecht Realizacoes Imobiliarias, for about BRL817m ($401m), the company says. The funding comes 90% from the fund’s Plano 1 vehicle and 10% from Previ Futuro, with payments to be made through 2015, keeping with the construction schedule. Six commercial towers are in the works for the development, along with two residential towers, a shopping center, hotel and park. Previ brings its real estate portfolio to more than BRL8bn with the buy.