Hortifrut Sets IPO Date

Chile’s Hortifrut is scheduled to close books on its approximately $75m IPO July 11, with pricing announced by the following morning, according to a banker managing the sale. The exporter of berries began marketing last month the sale of up to 103.6m primary shares, representing about 29% of the company post-float. In the sale targeting mostly domestic investors, Hortifrut is raising funds for investment in new facilities and export capacity, with an eye on opening new markets in Asia and LatAm. Chilean brokerages Celfin and Penta are managing the sale. Controlled by the Moller family, Hortifrut has growing and distribution operations including LatAm, North America and Europe and is among the world’s largest exporters of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. It posted $22.7m in Ebitda in 2011, up from $13.5m in 2012. While bankers admit the current state of the global markets is challenging for all equity deals, smaller IPOs not depending on international buyers may stand a better chance of completion than larger IPOs.