Brazilian travel operator CVC is expected to aim for mid-April for its IPO, according to bankers close to the deal. CVC management watched on the sidelines as rival Brasil Travel dropped the price of its IPO in early February to as low as R$850 from a range of R$1,250 to R$1,650 and eventually pulled the deal. Another potential deal, Seadrill, was pulled at the end of January.
CVC joins a growing list of candidates that might be considering the dubious honour of being the first Brazilian IPO of 2012, joining rumoured plans for issuance by companies including Brazilian meatpacker JBS’s planned IPO for its dairy subsidiary, Vigor Alimentos; oil and gas company Queiroz Galvão Perfurações; and energy company CPFL.
"There was alarm that Brasil Travel tried to cut the price so aggressively and we expect they will return to the market soon and so CVC wants to be out before they return," says one source. "CVC doesn’t want a comparable already on the exchange with low multiples when it’s doing its investor roadshow."
Brasil Travel attempted to price its IPO on February 8. It is a roll-up of 35 tourism-related companies and intended to use the proceeds of the equity sale to pay for acquisitions.
