Cetip Mute on Jumbo IPO Talk

Brazil’s Cetip declines to comment on speculation it plans to file for an IPO this week. Investors have been expecting an offer from the securities clearing house and depository and other issuers who put off 2007 and 2008 offerings due to the crisis, and Brazilian paper O Estado de Sao Paulo reports Cetip will file this week to raise up to BRL4bn. “Conditions have improved. A deal like this could get done now,” says a Brazilian ECM banker, noting that while it should be a large transaction, reaching BRL4bn might require aggressive valuation. Goldman Sachs is heard among the likely lead banks, according Brazil-focused equity investors based on its leading of the BM&F Bovespa offering. The shops attached to larger domestic banks among Cetip’s ownership structure, including UBS, Itau and Santander, are also favored. If a deal goes through, it would be the region’s second largest of the year, after VisaNet’s BRL8.24bn offer in June. Cetip is LatAm’s largest depository for private fixed-income, reporting net profit of BRL41m on net revenue of BRL89m in 2008. Cetip demutualized 2 years ago and considered a number of options including an IPO, but ended up shelving the plan due to the global crisis. In March, private equity firm Advent International bought a 30% stake in Cetip for BRL360m from local financial-market participants.