Exito Launches FO

Colombia’s Grupo Exito has started the sale period for its COP2.502trn ($1.40bn) equity follow-on, which will close September 23 and see allocations finished by the September 27. The retailer is offering 114.27m shares at COP21,900 each, which it says represents an 8% discount to the COP23,800 average price over the month to the announcement of the deal. The company’s shares closed at COP23,000 Tuesday. Majority shareholder Grupo Casino intends to subscribe in line with its rights, leaving 45% of the deal, or COP1.126trn worth of shares available to the public. Exito had indicated it would seek to raise $1.4bn in equity to help fund the June acquisition of Grupo Casino’s Disco, Devoto y Geant supermarket businesses in Uruguay for $746m. Casino holds a 62.5% in Disco and Geant, and a 96.5% stake in Devoto. Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Citi and Santander are managing the international sale, with Corredores Asociados leading the domestic portion.