Celulose Arauco has agreed to purchase Canadian wood panel firm Flakeboard for $243m, it says. The forestry unit of the Chilean Copec conglomerate claims the buy makes it the top wood panel producer in the Americas, including capacity of 2.9m cubic meters of panels per year in the US. Flakeboard operates two wood panel plants in Canada and five in the US. Arauco is funding the purchase with cash on hand, an investor relations official says, through it does not rule out a bond sale near the end of the year or early next year to replace the cash, as the company also has a maturity coming due then. Arauco did not use an external advisor. The sale, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Category: M&A
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Corfi Moves for Promigas
Colombia’s Corporacion Financiera Colombiana (Corficolombiana) plans to offer to buy the 75.03% in gas distribution and pipeline company Promigas that it does not own, it says. The financial group is offering up to COP2.49trn ($1.41bn), targeting 99.7m shares at a price of COP25,000 each. The price represented a 13% discount to Wednesday’s COP28,900 closing price. Shares remained Thursday at that level, with trading suspended that morning. The takeover bid has been planned since Corficolombiana, along with other investors, closed the acquisition of companies owning 52.13% in Promigas. The impact of the transaction is positive, says Bolsa y Renta in a report, noting that it values Promigas at COP30,000 per share. The shop adds that Corficolombiana could fund the purchase using its cash and through the sale of assets.
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Gafisa to Issue Equity to Complete Alphaville Buy
Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa plans to issue shares to help finance the BRL359m ($177m) purchase of the remaining 20% stake in its Alphaville Urbanismo unit, it says. It will offer 70.25m shares, representing BRL150m at Wednesday’s BRL2.13 close, the most recent closing price. The company says it is defining the steps of the process, and will give additional details about the purchase in the future. Gafisa bought 60% of the high-income housing unit in 2006, before adding another 20% in 2010. There had been concern the homebuilder lacked the funds to complete the acquisition, following a poor first quarter. The company turned down a buyout offer from Chicago real-estate magnate Sam Zell and Brazilian investment fund GP Investimentos in March.
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Caixa Enters IT Deal
Brazil’s Caixa Participacoes (CaixaPar) has agreed to acquire a 22% stake in Brazilian IT services company CPM BraxisCapgemini from controller Capgemini, it says. The deal also makes CPM a preferred IT supplier to the Caixa Economica Federal bank for 10 years. CaixaPar is acquiring the stake through the simultaneous purchase of shares from existing shareholders and subscription to a BRL121m ($60m) capital increase, for a total investment of BRL321m. It will become the second-largest shareholder in CPM after France-based Capgemini, which will hold 58.8%. The transaction is subject to regulatory and Central Bank approval, and is expected to close in the coming months. CPM already boasts a relationship with Bradsco that makes it one of the larger IT providers to Brazil’s financial sector.
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Colbun to Hold on to Hydro Project
Colbun does not have plans to sell any of its stake in the Hidroaysen hydropower project, it says. The Chilean power generator’s board has recommended holding off on an environmental impact study for a Hidroaysen’s transmission line, and it will evaluate ownership conversations – it currently owns 49% – as the project develops. The 2,750 megawatt, 5-dam $3bn-plus project is a joint venture with Endesa, located near Coyhaique in the Andes.
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Miner Puts up Equity for Acquisition
Peruvian miner Minsur plans to put in $300m worth of fresh equity capital into its Cumbres Andinas subsidiary, it says, to help finance the acquisition of a stake in the Marcobre copper project. After the transaction, Minsur will hold 99.96% of Cumbres’ shares. It is already seeking a $200m loan to help with the purchase. In April, Minsur agreed to acquire 70% of Marcobre from Hong Kong’s CST Mining for $505m.
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Sura Adds JPM to Co-Investor List
Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana (Grupo Sura) has brought in JPMorgan as a co-investor in its Sura Asset Management Espana unit, for $178m, it says. The US bank gets a stake of “less than 5%” in the vehicle created last year to hold assets from the $3.76bn acquisition of pension and insurance businesses Sura acquired from ING. Grupo Bolivar, UBS, the IFC, General Atlantic and Bancolombia have previously bought in to Sura, to help fund its expansion. Sura brought in the co-investors as an equity follow-on to fund the deal fell short of a $2bn-equivelant target. JPMorgan’s entry price matches the price Sura paid ING, Bolsa y Renta says. Sura now holds 66% of the unit.
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PacRu Makes Colombian Buy
Pacific Rubiales has agreed to acquire fellow Toronto-listed Colombian oil and gas company PetroMagdalena for CAD253m ($244m), it says. Pacific Rubiales is paying CAD1.60 for each common share of Magdalena, and CAD0.25 per share purchase warrant. It plans to fund the deal with cash on hand. PetroMagdalena has a market cap of about CAD187m and holds 19 properties in 5 basins in Colombia. RBC and Norton Rose Canada advised Pacific Rubiales. “The PetroMagdalena acquisition was not within our expectations, as the company had not in the past showed interest due to its size. However, we belive the company is acquiring light crude reserves at a reasonable price that should benefit its current production,” Bolsa y Renta says in a report.
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PE Shop Makes Brazilian Infrastructure Services Investment
US-based private equity fund ACON has made a BRL110m ($53m) investment in Brazil’s BSM Engenharia, a service provider to the country’s oil and infrastructure sectors. The stake is said to be about 40% of BSM, and represents ACON’s first purchase in Brazil following the exits of its two remaining portfolio companies last year. The investment comes from the approximately $350m ACON Latin America Opportunities Fund. ACON, with local offices in Sao Paulo and Mexico City, has managed more than $2.2bn in the US and Latin America. It has made investments in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Ecuador, in sectors including hydroelectric power, waste management, asset management, lending institutions and retail. BSM provides equipment rental, cargo handling services, port operations and logistics support to the oil and gas, infrastructure, mining and energy industries.
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US Manufacturer Expands into Colombia
US-based General Cable has agreed to pay $45m for a 60% stake in Procables, a Colombian wire and cable products manufacturer, it says. Procables, which reported $120m in revenue in 2011, will remain 40% held by the local, privately-held Sredni Group, which General Cable sites as having over half a century of market experience in the region and sector. The deal value is inclusive of net working capital and debt adjustments, and is expected to close the second half of 2012, pending regulatory approval.