Wednesday, 5th September 2012 by Rachel Hall
With the help of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York and Mexico′s Ritch Mueller SC, Banco Santander has filed for a listing of its Mexican subsidiary on the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) that would see the bank raise US$4.3 billion - making it the world’s second largest IPO this year and the biggest ever in Mexico.
If successful, the Santander Mexico listing will be the world′s second largest this year behind Facebook, which raised some US$16 billion. It will also be the biggest share sale in Latin America since Petrobras′ record-breaking US$67 billion IPO in September 2010, which won Latin Lawyer′s deal of the year award and saw Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados, Motta, Fernandes Rocha – Advogados, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and offshore firm Walkers advise the Brazilian state-owned oil company. Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados and Shearman & Sterling LLP counselled the underwriters.
The IPO will be a record breaker for the Mexican stock exchange, Latin America’s second largest after Brazil’s BM&FBovespa, which has seen two IPOs so far this year; Vestas turned to Davis Polk and Ritch Mueller to raise US$255 million last month after petrochemicals producer Alpek raised US$851 million in April.
In October, Santander was counselled in the US by Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, in Argentina by Allende & Brea Abogados, in Brazil by Pinheiro Neto Advogados, in Chile by Claro y Cía, in Mexico by Ritch Mueller and in Uruguay by Jiménez de Aréchaga, Viana & Brause for a sell-off of its life insurance, pension and general insurance operations in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay to Zurich Financial Services.
Santander′s executive chairman Emilio Botín has said that the bank will aim to list all of its major subsidiaries within five years.
Back in 2009, Davis Polk, Pinheiro Neto, Machado Meyer and Shearman & Sterling worked on Santander’s US$7 billion listing of its Brazilian unit, which went on to win Latin Lawyer′s Deal of the Year award.
Santander′s Chilean division is already publicly listed, but plans to list Santander’s UK and Argentine businesses were ditched earlier this year amid volatile markets and low demand from investors. Davis Polk was also hired for the scrapped Argentine IPO.
Santander′s global roadshow is scheduled to last for three weeks, with shares set to be priced on 25 September. American Depositary Shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange the following day.
(Latin Lawyer 05.09.2012)
(Notícia na Íntegra)