La Polar Offer Tops $240m

Chile’s La Polar has raised CLP115.72bn ($244m) at the close of the primary phase of an equity capital raise Tuesday, it says. The retailer has sold 665m shares, with pricing set as the average price of the three days prior to the buyer’s subscription minus a 5% discount. This meant the shares were offered at CLP198.14 each during Tuesday’s final session. The shares closed at CLP220.17 in the market Wednesday. The retailer will offer the 85m remaining unsubscribed shares during a 7-day period beginning Friday. The offer raises funds to remodel stores in Chile and to expand in Colombia, and is done as part of a $900m restructuring agreement with creditors. The retailer set aside nearly $1bn-equivalent in loan loss provisions last year amid accusations of fraud after the company arbitrarily overcharged its credit clients. Celfin is managing the capital raise, and Lazard is the advisor on the restructuring.