Bolsa Shares Droop at Debut

Setting the tone for this week’s Genomma IPO, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores suffered a lackluster equity debut that saw the shares retrace 17.5% from the high point of MXP20.00 Friday. The first domestic Mexican IPO in seven months launched at MXP16.50 Thursday and was expected to lead resurgence in local equity activity. Volume peaked in the last hour of the day, as the stock dropped to close at MXP16.49, according to Economatica. “The shares closed at the IPO price which means they were properly priced,” Guillermo Prieto, the Bolsa’s chairman, tells LatinFinance. According to Economatica, however, the Bolsa’s shares opened at MXP18.20, which means they underperformed the broader equity index IPC, which closed down less than 1%, as well as the DJI, which rose less than 1%. One banker on the deal claimed it was a success thanks to enormous trading volume, but the fact is that the stock spent most of the day falling, despite a 10% jump at the open. The issuer sold 255m shares, half of which went to locals with the rest to offshore investors. Net proceeds to the issuer will be roughly $408m, according to a banker involved in the process. UBS and BBVA led the transaction. Mexican pharmaceuticals distributor Genomma is scheduled to raise more than $300m in an IPO this week. IXE and Santander are running the deal locally, with Merrill and UBS leading the international effort.