Mexican Grower Sets Local IPO Date

Mexico’s Proteak aims to raise as much as MXP1.13bn through a May 27 IPO with a price range of MXP11.58-MXP12.75, slightly higher than the original floor of MXP11.51. The grower of teak wood for export plans to sell up to 88.7m primary shares, including an 11.6m unit overallotment in the sale, only Mexico’s third in almost 2 years. Proteak, whose earnings depend on selling wood from trees that take 9-12 years to develop, had a 2009 pretax loss of MXP36.77m, according to its filing. Bulltick is managing the sale, with proceeds for acquisitions and organic growth. The sale looks to be the first test for the class of IPO issuers who had originally hoped to tap Mexico’s CCD market, which since inception has proved to be more suited to private equity funds. Since a rule change allowing Afores to freely invest in IPOs, however, public equity appears a viable means for such typically smaller businesses to raise growth capital. Developer Tres Marias, which is developing a “city within a city” mixed-use project in Michoacan state, plans to raise up to MXP1bn, expected as soon as the end of this month.