Vision Sees Portfolio Equity Spinoff

Vision, the Sao Paulo-based asset manager, is planning to sell equity in productive land assets, potentially through both the public and private markets. It has mandated a bank to bring a first tranche this year, Amaury Junior, founder of Vision, tells LatinFinance. Banks who pitched the deal in February said it would fetch $800m-$1.7bn, according to Junior, who predicts that it is worth more than $1bn. “We have several banks proposing IPOs of our portfolio, transforming them into a company,” says Junior. The lead, which Junior declines to name, is committing prop money to the deal. A first phase of equity issuance is planned in Q2-Q3 2008 and may go private, depending on market conditions. A public issue is anticipated mid-2009 and the issuer will be an agricultural land development company. Besides land that Vision owns, the assets include revenue from operators – producers of cattle, ethanol and biofuels – who rent it, and financing to them. “It’s more than real estate,” says Junior. “There’s a carry that is very attractive out of the renting and finance – on top of that I have the potential land appreciation,” he adds. Vision is positioning more in real assets, including agriculture, energy and real estate. “Investors have a preference, in particular now, for assets that have this type of risk profile,” says Junior. Vision, which also has hedge funds and does real asset securitization, has roughly $1.8bn in illiquid and approximately $1.5 in liquid assets under management. All is from North American and European long term investors.