Catalans to Slim Down Bank Stake

Grupo Financiero Inbursa is preparing a follow-on equity sale in which CaixaBank will sell some of its holdings in the Carlos Slim owned-bank, according to regulatory documents. The number of shares sold in the all-secondary transaction remains to be set, though the Barcelona-based lender says it is looking at the sale of 10% of the Mexican bank. A 10% position should be worth more than $1.4bn based on Inbursa’s MXP182bn ($14.66bn) market cap. Caixa owns 20% of Inbursa, having bought in to it in 2008. Documents filed Thursday don’t indicate the timing, though a filing this week likely sets the issuer up for a late June or July pricing. The deal is to include both international and Mexican tranches. Credit Suisse, Inbursa and UBS have been hired as global coordinators, with BTG Pactual as bookrunner on the international sale and Citi and BBVA joining on the Mexican portion. Caixa is raising funds to boost its Tier 1 capital.