Category: M&A

Canada’s Norex is acquiring for up to $36.5m the outstanding shares of South American Exploration, a privately held seismic acquisition company with operations based in Lima. “This acquisition is an important milestone in our creation of a truly international company providing premium seismic data acquisition and processing services,” says Paul Crilly, president and CEO of Norex. “We are excited with the prospects of further growth in the expanding oil and gas industry in South America,” he adds. The total consideration for the shares of SAE consists of cash on closing of approximately US$14.5 million, with remaining consideration payable to a maximum of US$22 million through a combination of cash and the issuance of common shares of Norex based on the subsequent financial performance of SAE. The deal should close by the end of the month. Westwind Partners was strategic advisor to Norex.

Brazilian sugar producer Cosan is planning a follow on equity offering worth up to $2.15bn, according to Dealogic. Cosan already has a $600m warchest for acquisitions, so a major M&A transaction should not be ruled out. The share deal through Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs is concurrent with a restructuring to incorporate in Bermuda. Last trade before the announcement was $18.71. The transaction is scheduled to price next Wednesday.

BR Malls, the shopping mall acquisition and operating company, has received the go-ahead from the Brazilian securities commission or CVM to issue its debut local bond, worth BRL300m ($161m). Two tranches will have maturities of 2014 and 2016, and will pay 150bp over the yield of the 2015 NTN-B government note. UBS in coordinating. Earlier this year, the company raised BRL657m from its IPO on the Bovespa.

ING has high hopes for the development of its LatAm pensions business following the Santander acquisition. “ING expects to double its pension fund AUM [assets under management] in the region between 2008 and 2011,” says the bank. ING says its combined LatAm pension business (excluding Argentina) with Santander’s had, in aggregate, €35.5bn of AUM at the end of 2006, says ING. The Dutch bank already claims a presence in Chile, Mexico and Peru. “This transaction will extend ING’s pension expertise to two new countries, namely Colombia and Uruguay, both of which are showing a steady GDP growth and an increasing demand for wealth management products,” says ING.

Proskauer Rose, the international law firm, has opened an office in São Paulo for debt, equity, M&A and bank finance services. The effort is headed by Antonio Piccirillo, partner in the firm’s corporate department, with the assistance of Carlos Martinez, corporate partner and head of the firm’s Latin America practice. “Our work in Latin America has continued to increase, making a physical presence in the region of clear strategic significance for the firm and our clients,” says Allen I. Fagin, chairman of Proskauer. He adds that Latin America is “ripe with potential.”

Mexico anti-trust commission, CFC, has laid down conditions for the acquisition by the country’s largest broadcaster, Televisa, of a 49% stake in Mexico’s second-largest cable company, Cablemás. Last year the broadcaster offered to pay $258m for the stake in Cablemás. The Commission has stipulated that Televisa must offer its free broadcast content to other pay-TV operators in the country and carry on its satellite system any signals with 30% or more national coverage. Televisa can appeal against the decision within 30 days, said the CFC.

Fitch has upgraded America Movil to A minus from BBB+, including approximately $4.5bn in senior unsecured debt. The agency praises the telecom’s strong subscriber growth, revenues and cash flow and the expectation that management will maintain a relatively conservative credit profile over the long term. “Potential acquisition opportunities for America Movil in Latin America are currently limited,” says Fitch. “While further acquisitions can not be ruled out, Fitch believes that if total debt to EBITDA were to approach 1.5x through debt-financed acquisitions the current rating could be maintained if America Movil demonstrated a clear path for leverage to return in the near term to the historical, approximate 1x level,” it adds. According to the agency, the firm’s cash balances as of March 31 was over $1.9bn and upcoming maturities for the next three years are about $1.9bn.