Category: People

Brazil’s Eletrobras says it plans to invest in Peruvian generation and will look to bid on energy generation auctions in the country. Speaking earlier this week, CEO Jose Antonio Muniz Lopez said Eletrobras is interested in establishing itself in Peru nd could seek a partnership to bid on new projects. Peruvian laws state that to bid for concessions, foreigners must work in partnership with a local entity. Eletrobras has already attempted to team up with Eletroperu but that partnership never materialized, according to a local report.

Eike Batista has hired Credit Suisse mining and steel analyst Roger Allan Downey to replace him as CEO of MMX, the Brazilian iron ore miner. Downey will also take over IR duties for the Brazilian iron ore company. Batista relinquishes his CEO title, but will stay on as chairman of the board. Joaquim Martino, MMX’s former executive officer, will become a special advisor of parent EBX Group for mining activities and will continue contributing in deployment and operation of mining projects. He will also be nominated to become a member of MMX’s board as vice chairman. In his first conference call with analysts as CEO, held yesterday, Downey says that conversations with China’s Wuhan Iron and Steel, which signed a non-binding agreement to acquire a minority stake in the company, are continuing, but that no binding offer has been made yet. Downey says that a delegation from Wuhan will visit Brazil soon and that discussions will continue, but adds that there is no timeframe for completion of a deal. Wuhan initially agreed in May to acquire a 9% stake in MMX for $120m and a 23% equity interest in the Sudeste port for $280m, by issuing new shares.

Brazilian logistics operator LLX has tapped Otavio Lazcano, former CFO of steel company CSN, to be its new CEO and IR officer. He replaces Ricardo Antunes Carneiro, who will remain within the EBX group and become a board member of some of the holdco’s companies. In July, LatinFinance reported Lazcano had joined EBX and company insiders had indicated he would be one of a handful of managers on a new $10bn private equity fund Eike Batista, the founder of EBX, is currently raising. LLX will today hold a call to discuss the transition.

Caribbean telecom Digicel Group is interested in entering Costa Rica in 2010 and may also look at the Bahamas, when the two countries open up their telecom industries to competition, CEO Colm Delves tells LatinFinance. Costa Rica is in the process of allowing the private sector to operate in its telecoms sector, he adds. “There is talk that the Bahamas is also opening up. I understand there is a process to sell a stake in the [national telecommunications] company, which in turn will lead to privatization of that market, but we are probably talking about a 2-year timeframe,” Delves explains. The Bahamas Telecommunications Company has hired Citibank to advise on the sale of a 51% stake to a strategic buyer. The seller is apparently looking to raise over $300m.

Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (OMA) has appointed Victor Bravo Martin CEO, effective from July 1. Bravo Martin has been CFO at OMA since March 2006. Before joining the company he was employed at Empresas ICA between 1986 and 2006, where he held a variety of positions. He succeeds Ruben Lopez, who has been granted a sabbatical. Jose Luis Guerrero Cortes succeeds Bravo Martin as CFO. He was previously an associate at Goldman Sachs in New York and has also worked at ICA.

Jose Salim Mattar, the founder, CEO and largest shareholder of Brazil-based Localiza Rent a Car has sold 14m shares, or a 6.9% stake, in the company for $89.4m or BRL12.7 per share. The shares were sold on through the Bovespa exchange. Proceeds will be used to pay down debt contracted with UBS Pactual. Localiza says Salim Mattar is still the company’s largest shareholder, owning 26.3m shares or a 13% stake. Localiza shares closed at BRL12.30 on June 4.

Morgan Stanley has hired a seasoned executive to boost its Brazil investment banking platform. Cassio Casseb, who has held CEO posts at Grupo Pao de Acucar and of Banco do Brasil, will join the Morgan Stanley payroll as a senior advisor, but will not have the specific sector coverage duties of an ordinary banker, says Charlie Stewart, Sao Paulo-based head of LatAm investment banking. Casseb will continue to serve on company boards he is already on, but will be tapped for his contacts and expertise when needed by the bank. As such, he will occupy a role that exists elsewhere in Morgan Stanley’s global roster. One example of a senior advisor in the US is Steve Oxman, a veteran lawyer and banker who today chairs the Princeton University executive committee. Morgan Stanley has also recently hired a senior banker for its Sao Paulo office. Marcelo Naigeborin joined after departing Itau BBA in February.

Banco do Brasil (BdB) says it has named Ivan de Souza Monteiro as CFO after Aldo Luiz Mendes resigned from the post to become the CEO of Cia. de Seguros Alianca do Brasil, an insurance company that is a unit of BdB. Monteiro has been with the bank for 26 years, most recently as business MD. Mendes, the bank adds, played a key role in adding BdB to the Novo Mercado listing, as well as in 2 follow-on offerings which increased BdB’s free float to 21% from 7%.