ING’s Sul América Readies BRL760m IPO

ING Group’s Sul América, an insurance company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, is scheduled to price its IPO on the Bovespa this Wednesday, according to Dealogic, via the placement of depositary units on the exchange. The units, to be offered at BRL30-BRL40 each, are composed of one ordinary share and two preferential shares. Unibanco and UBS Pactual are leading, with Banco do Brasil and HSBC as co-leads. Fitch has upped the rating on Sul América, the holding company controlling the Sul America Seguros insurance group activities, to BB minus (stable) from B+ because of firm operational performance. The strength is due mainly to improved underwriting and pricing policies adopted since 2004 on the main segments of its portfolio, especially health and automobiles, accounting for 54% and 27% respectively of the consolidated premiums at H107, says Fitch.