Carrefour is understood to be in talks over a potential IPO for its Brazilian subsidiary, two equity capital markets sources told LatinFinance.
The French retailer has approached at least three US banks and one Brazilian lender to coordinate an equity offering, which could launch as early as May, both sources said.
Itau BBA is the likely Brazilian candidate, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are the likely US banks, the sources said. The banks declined to comment.
Brazil’s equity pipeline has gathered pace in the last two months. Car rental units Unidas and Movida as well as medical services firm Hermes Pardini are slated to price IPOs in the first week of February, while toll road operator CCR is expected to price a follow-on equity offering.
Companies looking to raise capital in the equity markets need to price their offerings before mid-February, otherwise they must submit revised financial statements, outlining their Q4 numbers, and effectively delay a share sale until March at least.
The second source said he expects a busy second quarter in the equity markets, with a number of new share offerings on the way besides Carrefour.