2023-12-11 00:05:12
© Reuters.
By Paula Arend Laier
SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – GPA (BVMF:) announced this Sunday that it has started preliminary work for a potential primary offering of shares in the company in the order of 1 billion reais, within the retailer’s plan to optimize its capital structure .
According to the relevant fact to the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), Itaú BBA and BTG Pactual (BVMF:) were engaged to analyze the feasibility and terms of the potential transaction, while BR Partners (BVMF:) was hired as an advisor financial.
“If the Potential Offer is carried out, the resources obtained will be used to reduce the Company’s debt, with a consequent reduction in its financial leverage”, stated GPA.
The plan to optimize its capital structure includes the sale of the 34% stake in Cnova and the process of selling the 13.3% stake in Éxito.
Still within the scope of studies for the potential share offering, GPA called an extraordinary general meeting for January 11th of next year to decide, among other matters, on an increase in authorized capital of up to 800 million common shares, as well as management proposal for the election of a new board of directors, conditional on the settlement of the potential offer and taking office 30 days after settlement.
The proposed slate, according to the relevant fact, is the result of alignment between the Company’s Management and its current controlling shareholder, Casino, being composed of nine members, six of whom are independent — Eleazar de Carvalho Filho, Luiz Augusto de Castro Neves and Renan Bergmann, current independent members reappointed to the position, and José Luis Gutierrez, Márcia Nogueira de Mello and Rachel Maia, new independent members, and two members appointed by Casino, Christophe José Hidalgo and Philippe Alarcon, in addition to continuing to count on CEO Marcelo Pimentel as a representative member of the Company’s Management.
The list also nominates Renan Bergmann as President of the Board of Directors.
“The composition now proposed is consistent with the potential dilution of the current controlling shareholder”, stated GPA.
The retailer highlighted that the effective realization of the potential offer depends, among other factors, on obtaining the necessary approvals, including the respective applicable corporate approvals, as well as national and international political and macroeconomic conditions.
GPA also announced this Sunday that the Calleja Group, with whom it is in the process of selling its 13.3% stake in Éxito, published a notice of a public offering that will be launched in Colombia for the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of the Success.
The OPA is conditioned on the minimum acquisition of 51% of Éxito’s share capital and will be open from December 18th to January 19th of next year.
GPA’s common shares ended Friday’s session up 6.13% at 4.33 reais.
(Reporting by Paula Arend Laier)
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