Shares of Brazilian retailer Grupo Casas Bahia, formerly Via, sank on Thursday after the company raised less than expected in a follow-on offering.
Casas Bahia’s shares fell 18.9% to BRL0.90 on São Paulo’s B3 stock exchange after it priced the new shares at BRL0.80, a 28% discount on Wednesday’s closing price.
The offering brought in BRL623 million ($128 million), less than the BRL1 billion envisaged at the start of the month.
The furniture and home appliance retailer said BRL311.5 million of the proceeds will be used for a capital increase, and BRL311.5 million will be used as a reserve, according to a securities filing.
Casas Bahia also approved the sale of four stock warrants as a bonus for every five shares acquired in the offer, the filing said, which may bring the total amount raised to BRL1.1 billion.
Bradesco BBI, BTG Pactual, UBS, Itaú BBA and Santander coordinated the transaction.
S&P Global Ratings last week cut the company’s national rating to brA- from brAA- with a negative outlook, voicing concern about its higher-than-expected level of debt. Earlier this week, S&P also downgraded Casas Bahias’s BRL420 million real estate receivables certificates, known as CRI, which mature in 2027 and 2029.