E-CL, Adecoagro to Price Equity

Codelco is set to sell its 40% stake in power company E-CL today for about $1bn, while the George Soros-backed Adecoagro is targeting $400m in a US IPO. As part of the Chilean government’s reconstruction funding efforts, Codelco is set to price about 400m shares in E-CL via auction, which would raise CLP512bn ($1.05bn) if done at Wednesday’s CLP1,280 closing price. The exact number of shares to be sold will be determined during the sale, a banker on the deal says. LarrainVial and JPMorgan are managing the sale, which follows a 3-week roadshow. Codelco co-owns E-CL with France’s GDF Suez, which holds a 52.4% stake, in addition to a 7.6% free float. Meanwhile, Adecoagro could raise more than $400m today in a US IPO. The Luxembourg-based farmland venture that operates in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay plans to offer 21.4m primary and 7.1m secondary shares at $13-$15 each. Shareholder Al Gharrafa Investment Co, a unit of Qatar Holding, has agreed to buy $7.4m shares at $13.44 each, as long as the total IPO raises at least $400m. A 4.3m share greenshoe is also possible. Adecoagro is involved in farming, energy production and land development and counts a George Soros fund as its largest shareholder. It plans to use proceeds to fund construction of a sugar and ethanol mill in Brazil and expanding its farming business. Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Itau are global coordinators and joint bookrunners, with Deutsche as bookrunner.