Tereos Pulls FO Plug

Sugar producer Tereos International has postponed indefinitely its equity follow-on, owing to market conditions. The BRL450m-BRL600m ($280m-$370m) issue was designed to help the company reach the 25% free float required by local regulators after it first listed its shares in Brazil in August. The unit of the Europe-based Tereos Group was formed after its European and Asian assets were combined with Brazilian subsidiary Acucar Guarani. The issuer is still in discussions with the BM&FBovespa about how to reach the free-float threshold, but expects to go through with a share sale in the future. Proceeds were to be used for acquisitions and greenfield expansion in LatAm and other regions where Tereos operates. BTG Pactual, Credit Agricole, Morgan Stanley and Natixis had been hired as leads. Tereos has bioenergy and sugar operations in Brazil and Africa, and says it is the third largest sugar producer in Brazil. Tereos shares closed at BRL2.97 Tuesday. Brazilian equity issuance has struggled this year, with a recent wave of offerings last week seeing deals price at the bottom or below their ranges, or get pulled entirely.