Gigante files for Office Depot Mexico IPO

Grupo Gigante has filed for an IPO of Office Depot de Mexico, mandating BBVA Bancomer and Credit Suisse. The all-secondary sale comes after Grupo Gigante took full control of the firm in June last year, buying the 50% of the Mexican retailer that it did not own from Office Depot for MXN8.77bn ($691m). Gigante took out a $342.9m bridge loan to fund the acquisition. It has repaid half of that, and plans to use funds raised in the IPO to repay the remainder. Office Depot Mexico, had an ebitda of $87.8m in the first 9 months last year, according to a regulatory filing. The firm, established in 1995, has retail outlets in Central America and Colombia as well as Mexico.