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.
Category: M&A
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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.
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Cruzeiro Considers Sale
Brazil’s Banco Cruzeiro do Sul is in discussions about “strategic alternatives for its businesses,” it says. Nothing binding has come out of any discussions. As with other mid-sized Brazilian lenders, the bank has seen debt funding become a bit more complicated, particularly in the international markets. Moody’s lowered Cruzeiro to B2 from Baa3 with a negative outlook in April. BTG Pactual, which took over troubled lender Panamericano in 2010, has been floated as a possible buyer.
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Oi Boosts PT Position
Brazil’s Oi has raised its stake in Portugal Telecom (PT) to 10%, PT says. Between April 24 and May 24, Oi’s Telemar Norte Leste unit bought 25.1m shares, meaning it spent EUR77m ($95m) at Thursday’s EUR3.05 closing price. The increased holding means Oi reaches a milestone agreed in a deal initiated in 2010, in which PT bought a 25% stake in Oi.
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Petersen Pays Repsol in YPF Shares
Repsol has accepted 21.2m YPF shares from Argentina’s Petersen Group in lieu of payment for a loan, it says bringing the Spanish oil company’s stake in YPF up to 12.4% from 6.4%. The Argentine government’s expropriation of a 51% stake in YPF out of Repsol’s 57.4% last month and adjustment of YPF’s dividend policies left the Petersen Group without means to pay back loans it had taken out in 2008 and 2011 to gain its 25.5% stake in YPF. The stake is worth ARP1.71bn ($384m) at Thursday’s ARP81.00 closing price. Repsol has filed a class action with a US court against Argentina’s government relating to the expropriation, as well as stating its intention to take the matter to the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
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SLC Finds Land Partner
UK-based Valiance Asset Management has agreed to buy a 49% stake in SLC Agricola’s farmland unit for $239m, SLC says, completing the search for a co-investor that SLC began last year. SLC Landco is the Brazilian agricultural company’s vehicle for purchasing and developing farmland, and the two partners will combine resources to further advance those aims. Valiance will pay $29m up front, followed by payments of $50m in 2012, $80m in 2013, and $80m in 2014. When all is paid, Landco would be 50.6% held by SLC and 49.4% by Valiance, “respecting the sensitivity toward land ownership by foreigners in Brazil,” it says. SLC has said that such a partnership is a cheaper way to raise funds than borrowing, taking advantage of growing demand for Brazilian land assets.
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AMX Launches Dutch Tender
As planned, America Movil (AMX) has launched an offer to buy up to 22.9% more of Dutch telecom KPN, it says, and bring its stake as high as 27.7%. The Mexican telecom aiming to expand in European markets while valuations are low is offering KPN holders EUR8.00 per share through June 27 for up to 325m shares, or about $3.25bn total. KPN says it will review the bid, while reiterating the view that the offer is too low. KPN shares closed Wednesday at EUR7.67. KPN hired Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to advise it on its alternatives, which analysts say also include selling off assets including its Belgium and German units. The German operations – in a market where indigenous players have little room to increase market share – are said to be of particular interest to AMX. The move is also seen as a way to outpace rival Telefonica in Europe. Analysts have said the Spanish telecom, which competes with AMX on several continents, would be unlikely to match AMX’s offer. AMX has said it has no plans to go after a majority stake. Officials have said they would not increase the offer price if the process fails. Deutsche Bank is advising AMX.
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Brazilian Cookie Maker adds Peer
Brazilian food products company M. Dias Branco has agreed to buy Moinho Santa Lucia, it says, for up to BRL90m ($45m). It will pay BRL45m up front, followed by BRL27m over the next 6 years, and BRL18m at the end of the 6-year period. The transaction is subject to shareholder approval. M. Dias did not use an outside advisor, a company official says. Santa Lucia, a cookie and wheat products specialist, is based in the Northeastern state of Ceara.