Category: People

Antonio Quintella, CEO of Credit Suisse’s Brazil business and head of the Sao Paulo-based investment bank, has been appointed co-head of a new EM council made up of 15-17 bankers, many of whom are heads of business lines, regions or one of 7 EM regions that include Mexico, Brazil, Middle East, Russia, India China and Indonesia. Quintella has been selected as a permanent co-head of the council alongside Russia CEO Fawzi Kyriakos-Saad. “The council will seek to increase transaction flows not only into EM but between EM countries,” Quintella tells LatinFinance, noting a pickup in south to south investment flows. He adds another main purpose will be to better connect the bank’s internal EM staff across regions, and help local market clients access the bank’s global EM network. Quintella will remain CEO of Brazil, but relinquishes stewardship of the investment bank. Jose Olympio, head of corporate finance for Brazil and Marcelo Kayath, head of equities, will become co-heads of the investment bank.

Luis Fernando Alarcon, CEO of Colombia-based ISA is focused on diversifying away from energy transmission. “We have determined that we want to grow in other areas such as highway concessions and gas pipelines, among others,” he tells LatinFinance. “By 2016, we want 20% of our income to come from these other sectors,” Alarcon adds. ISA is in the process of finalizing the acquisition of a 60% stake in Cintra Chile from Spain’s Grupo Ferrovial for about $300m. It plans to exercise an option to buy the remaining 40%. “Cintra expects to finish its Ruta 5 project in Chile in a few months and we want to have the support of [Grupo Ferrovial] until that project is completed. After that we would begin working on acquiring the remaining stake,” Alarcon explains. ISA recently won Autopista de la Montana, 40-year concession which will require an investment of $2.5bn. Alarcon expects construction to begin in 2011. Elsewhere, ISA is developing fiber optic networks through its Intenexa unit, which already operates in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. “We aspire to connect all of South America and Central America,” Alarcon says. The diversification strategy does not entail divesting electricity transmission, the executive notes. ISA is working on an environmental impact study to build and operate an electrical interconnection line between Colombia and Panama, a project it will develop with joint venture partner Etesa of Panama. BBVA is helping ISA secure financing for the project. Alarcon says ISA has already received expressions of interest from multilaterals including the IDB, CAF and IFC, as well as private banks.

Standard Chartered has named John Leto president and CEO of its Americas private banking unit, it says. Leto is based in Miami and reports to David Stileman, CEO Americas and Marianne Hay, head of private banking for Europe, Americas and MENA. He joins from a startup private bank Alpha Capital Financial, where he was a partner, after holding different positions at Citi, including Chief administrative officer at its private bank. Leto replaces Diego Folino, who will move to another role at Standard Chartered that has not been announced yet.

JBS, the Brazilian meatpacker, plans to continue with plans to issue shares in US, though the timing of the deal has been delayed, CEO Joesley Batista told local news outlets in Sao Paulo Monday. The executive says the offering, expected to be worth $2bn, won’t occur until after the company release Q4 results and may occur during H1. The original timeline involved a placement in January 2010. JPMorgan advised JBS in its acquisition of Bertin in Brazil and Rothschild and Rabo advised it on its US acquisition of Pilgrim’s Pride in Q4 2010. JBS is raising equity in the US through an IPO and in Brazil through a private share placement to help finance the deals and capitalize the companies. JBS also announced Thursday it has launched a tender offer for its 9.375% 2011 bonds, of which there are $275m outstanding. The company’s string of acquisitions last year triggered change of control clauses, forcing JBS to buy back the bonds. The buyback period goes through March 1. JBS was unavailable for comment.

Colombia’s Colinversiones and newly acquired peer Epsa expect to invest more than $100m in domestic power generation and transmission projects, says CEO Juan Guillermo Londono tells LatinFinance. He adds that Epsa’s board has already authorized the company to issue as much as COP900bn ($453m) in local bonds to finance the development of the plants, but that an issue date has not yet been determined. The issue is rated AAA by Fitch and Bancolombia is the lead. “There is a lot of liquidity in the local market, interest rates are reasonable and there is ample appetite from investors,” Londono explains. The plants that Epsa is developing are the 20MW Amaime, in which it is investing $50m, and Tulua I and II, each generating 20MW and requiring an investment of $50m. It also has the 55MW Cucuana and the 120MW Miel II plants, but total investment has not been determined, Londono says. Amaime and Tulua are expected to become operational this year and the others should be working by 2013, the executive adds. In addition, Colinversiones is developing Termoflores IV, in which it is investing $188m, including $150m from CAF, the IFC and DEG. It is also spending $55m cash on the Hidromontanitas plant, Londono adds.

Itau Unibanco, owner of Brazil’s largest private banking network by assets under management (AUM), is plowing ahead with expansion, says CEO Celso Scaramuzza. “We expect the growth rate for the private banking market [by AUM] in Brazil this year to be 20%,” he says. The banker notes that a real increase of around 10% is on par with some of the world’s fastest expanding private banking markets, like China. With AUM of around BRL100bn equivalent and a 34% share of the Brazilian pie, according to ANBIMA, Itau Unibanco is focused on building out the domestic business further. A new area is managing money for families and shareholders that own significant or controlling stakes in Brazilian firms. Advisory products include liquidity event and strategic capital structure management, often done in conjunction with investment banking arm Itau BBA, says Scaramuzza. Among recent hires for the effort is Andrea Brandao, formerly of RBC’s Sao Paulo-based private bank, who will be a senior private banker for Itau. “We are growing the team and there will be more hires this year,” notes the executive. The bank is also looking to develop more elaborate investment products, both in fixed income, equity and structured finance, which can include a combination of assets. “We are seeing a higher demand for equity funds in Brazil,” adds Scaramuzza. Itau is also building its overseas network. With a pending license to operate in Zurich, the bank will have 3 non-LatAm main offices, including Miami and Luxembourg. In the region, units in Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay complement the bank’s retail presence in those countries. Broadly speaking, says the CEO, competition in wealth management and private bank is growing significantly in Brazil. Goldman Sachs, for one, has recently built a large new Sao Paulo-based wealth management team targeting high and ultra-high net worth individuals. BTG Pactual and Credit Suisse are meanwhile competing head to head for the number 2 slot, with close

Only Benjamin Steinbruch, the CEO and leading shareholder of CSN, knows what his next move will be in an ongoing battle to acquire a stake in Portugal’s Cimpor. In the meantime, a variety of expectations is cropping up in the analyst community following a Wednesday offer by Camargo Correa to merge its cement operations with Cimpor’s. Analysts at Banif-Ixe, believe CSN’s role may be coming to an early close. Steinbruch will more than likely refrain from placing a higher bid than the EUR5.75 per share it offered in December, according to Gilberto Cardoso, Rio-based mining analyst at Banif-Ixe, noting that the 10x Ebitda price tag is what Steinbruch said was a fair price. “I don’t see them putting the company under financial stress and raising debt to jump into cement,” says Cardoso, who covers CSN. Banif adds that the Camargo’s offer has a stronger chance of being considered seriously by the board and Cimpor shareholders, as it offers a premium to CSN and requires the company to relinquish less. Itau analysts meanwhile say that CSN’s 100% cash offer, which is more attractive for Cimpor’s shareholders, as well as the fact the new company would have lower leverage, give it an advantage. The analysts believe Steinbruch is willing to up his bid and that a new offer could come in the EUR7.30-EUR7.40 range. In any case, CSN is likely to wait and see how Cimpor reacts to Camargo. Itau notes that according to Portuguese law, CSN has the right to place the final bid since it was the first to do so. CSN is working with BES, while Camargo Correa has hired Credit Suisse and BofA-Merrill.

Citi’s LatAm head Manuel Medina-Mora has been given expanded responsibilities, including the titles of CEO for consumer banking in the Americas and chairman of Citi’s global consumer council. In the new role, Medina-Mora will oversee Citi´s retail branch network, the branded cards business and the local commercial bank in the Americas. As chairman of the newly formed consumer council, he will be responsible for global consumer strategy. He continues to be chairman and CEO of Citi LatAm and Mexico, reporting directly to Citi’s global CEO Vikram Pandit.

Wal-Mart has appointed Eduardo Solorzano president and CEO of Walmart Latin America. The former president and CEO of Walmart de Mexico will oversee operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. Solorzano was also elected chairman of the board in Mexico, whose Wal-Mart unit appointed Scot Rank president and CEO. Based in Walmart’s Latin American regional office in Miami, Solorzano will assume his new role January 18. Solorzano has led Walmart de Mexico since early 2005 and was responsible for the conception and creation of Banco Walmart. Wal-Mart plans to boost investments in Brazil by some 40% in 2010, taking advantage of prospects for robust economic expansion and growth in consumption, according to Dow Jones, which cites Hector Nunez, chief executive of Walmart Brasil. The company plans to invest the equivalent of BRL2.0-BRL2.2bn in 2010, it adds. Nunez says Brazil is one of the retailer’s most important international markets, according to the report.