Alfa mulls new banks for Sigma IPO

Alfa is considering changing the banks that will lead a planned IPO of Sigma Alimentos once the food producer closes a planned acquisition, the firm’s chief financial officer Ramon Leal told LatinFinance. Sigma closed a $1bn, 5-year senior unsecured facility earlier this month to finance an acquisition bid for Spain’s Campofrio Food Group. The Mexican firm also filed for an IPO in November, hiring Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Banorte-Ixe, Citi and Goldman Sachs. “Now with the results of the Campofrio financing we will reassess the participants in the IPO,” Leal said. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi led the syndicated loan, with mandated lead arrangers Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Agricole, HSBC, ING, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Natixis, Rabobank and Sumitomo Mitsui. EDC is heard to have joined as a lead manager and Banco de Sabadell Miami Branch as an arranger. Under the acquisition plans, Sigma and Hong Kong-based Shuanghui International, which already own 82% of Campofrio, and are offering €6.90 a share in the tender for the approximately 18.7m shares they do not own. The acquisition, which is pending authorization, is expected to close in the next few months, following which work on the IPO documentation will resume, said Leal. The IPO could take place in the third quarter, he said.