Gafisa Advances Alphaville Listing

Following up on a transaction it first contemplated last year, Brazil’s Gafisa has filed for Alphaville Urbanismo to become a listed company, according to the CVM, the first step in the IPO process. Claiming the market underestimated the value of the unit, the homebuilder last year mentioned carving out the high-income housing development through an IPO or selling a stake privately as possible remedies. An investor relations official at the company declines to comment on the process beyond Monday’s initial filing. Rothschild and Bain & Company have been advising on the matter. The market value of Alphaville inventories totaled BRL812m at the end of 2012, Gafisa claims in its most recent financial reports, an increase of 43% from the previous year. Gafisa bought 60% of the Alphaville unit in 2006, before adding another 20% in 2010.