Invepar IPO Awaits Window: OAS

Brazilian concession operator Invepar is still planning to hold an IPO, once market conditions get better, Nathaniel Wendling, director of corporate finance at parent OAS, says. “The IPO process should be in full force anytime in the next six months or so. We are just waiting for the market window to reopen,” the official says, speaking on a panel at the LatinFinance Latin America Korea Investors Forum in Seoul last week. Banks have been hired, but he would not disclose them. IPOs for other OAS divisions, in real estate, sports arenas and sanitation could also be possible in the long-term. Each is in a different stage of maturity, but could be a candidate to come to the market during the next several years, as they gain more scale. At the moment a handful of Brazilian issuers have documents ready for deals, but conditions remain tricky. Currency appreciation and other macroeconomic factors are challenging, Wendling says, but deals should be examined on a case-by-case basis. “If you look for stories that have a consistent track record and clear growth strategy, these are the names that will be first out of the box when the market reopens,” he says.