Gafisa Sells Control of Alphaville

Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa has agreed to sell a 70% stake of its Alphaville unit to private equity firms Blackstone Real Estate Advisors and Patria Investimentos for BRL1.41bn ($660m), it says, opting for a sale instead of an IPO. The amount is based on a total valuation for the high-end residential developer of BRL2.01bn. Blackstone and Patria will maintain the existing Alphaville management team, led by Marcelo Willer, and Gafisa will have two out of six seats on the board. To complete the sale to the pair of private equity buyers, Gafisa entered into an agreement with Alphaville’s founding partners to complete the purchase of the 20% stake in Alphaville it didn’t own, for BRL367m. The moves come after a strategic analysis for the Alphaville business, initiated in September 2012, in which an IPO was considered. Closing is expected in the second half of the year. Rothschild advised Gafisa on the deal.