If the deal gets done, these investors and bankers say, it will come below range R$10.75–$13.75 range it is currently talked. The company is selling 55.8m shares in the all-primary offering. Bradesco, Credit Suisse, BTG Pactual, Banco do Brasil are the bookrunners with Votorantim, Espirito Santo Investments and HSBC coming as co-managers.

Despite being privately held, Julio Simoes is a very well-known name in Brazil as it is one of the largest road logistics operators in the country. So, bankers believe, the leads may enlist the support of local investors, maybe even with strategic interests.

One banker dismissed such talk saying that while local management has toyed with the ideas for years, the US parent does not like it.

An investor who had heard the rumor was also skeptical.

“I think it is difficult because they have very weak margins from what little we know,” he said.

However, local management could be using the success of the Santander IPO to renew talk of a Brazilian listing.

More realistic is a listing of Belcorp, the third-largest player in the door-to-door cosmetics market. LatAm bankers have been pitching the Peruvian concern on the merits of life in the public spotlight.

Belcorp management see little need, however, to share ownership in a business that is doing so well.

Instead, JBS intends to meet its funding objectives from the sale of 200m shares in the follow-on offering, with pricing scheduled for April 26. BTG Pactual, BB Investimentos, Bradesco BBI, JP Morgan and Santander plan to officially open the books on April 14. Votorantim, Deutsche Bank and Safra are co-managers on the transaction.

The raise is smaller than originally expected. Last July, JBS filed a prospectus with US regulators that sought to raise US$2bn by carving out its US operations in an IPO. The company partially monetised its investment through the sale of a US$1.3bn CB in January that is convertible into shares of the US unit. If JBS USA does not list the security pays a 10% coupon, far higher than its standalone cost of debt funding.

The company is selling 37m shares in the primary portion of the deal and the controlling shareholders, the Nacht family and fund Peninsula, are selling 14.8m of their shares at a suggested range of R$11.5-R$14.5 each.

That range sets book-value-per share at about R$1.38, a seemingly steep valuation. It would not be surprise to see the deal price below-range, given recent investor pushback to small-cap companies such as Mills.

Joint bookrunners Itau BBA, BTG Pactual, Goldman Sachs and UBS, however, are likely to shift investor focus to the fact that Mills provides services to constructors, which have benefited from a boom both in infrastructure and home building.

Separately, Brazilian toll road operator Ecorodovias scored a pyrrhic victory in an IPO that could raise as much as R$1.37bn (US$764.2m), including a 15% over-allotment option. The offering came slightly above the bottom of the suggested range, though that was considered a favourable outcome in a year where virtually all Brazilian IPO have priced below range.

Ecorodovias sold 92m shares in a primary offering and 52m in a secondary that priced at R$9.5, the bottom half of a R$9-R$12 range. Itau BBA, BTG Pactual and Credit Suisse were the joint bookrunners, with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs coming in as co- managers.
Investors pointed to a solid business that generates consistent cash flow as motivating factor to participate. The company is one of the few compelling alternatives in the IPO pipeline, suggested one investor that participated.

Meanwhile, Hypermarcas seems to be attracting interest in its follow-on offering. Shares of the consumer products concern are trading at R$21.60, a 3.6% decline and versus a pre-launch level of R$22.40 pre-launch level. The performance is notable in that there are no rules in Brazil prohibiting investors from shorting stock and covering on a deal, as the case in the US. Citigroup and Credit Suisse are leading the deal.

Santander, lead coordinator, joint-bookrunner Bank of America Merrill Lynch marketed 25.7m units at R$19–$25, an intentionally wide range designed to accommodate varying views on valuation. BB Investimentos, Banco Votorantim and Espirito Santo Investments were on the second line of the prospectus.

However, investors that viewed the company as essentially a cash-box investment vehicle pushed back on valuation, with many pulling bids at the last minute amid concerns over the performance of recent IPOs. The company operates a few small hydroelectric plants but has very few assets overall.

The company, which gained attention in December when it became the largest seller of wind-generated power to the government, is shifting its focus to a private placement. The financing is expected to target a valuation toward the bottom end of the proposed IPO pricing.

Such an outcome would vindicate Itau BBA, which was mandated on the IPO but pulled out over a dispute on the valuation. No fee, just reputation.

Batista, who previously had little trouble attracting interest in similar “cash-box” investment vehicles such as OGX, an exploration & production company and OSX’s primary client, pledged to invest up to an additional US$1bn, with a three-year lock up. The size of the commitment is unclear.

What is clear is the surprising turn in investor sentiment or, alternatively, overly optimistic valuation pitched by investment banks. Credit Suisse, Bradesco BBI, BTG Pactual, Itau BBA and Morgan Stanley were joint bookrunners; Barclays Capital, HSBC and Banco Votorantim came in on the second tier.

Investor sensitivity was evident as pricing was delayed by two days on a significantly restructured deal. The concern stemmed from sizable discount on OSX’s sizable US$4bn backlog, almost all which is sourced from OGX. In its original form, IPO had the potential to reach US$5.5bn, which would have made it the largest deal in world this year.

A change in the IPO is disappointing but hardly unforeseen. If backer Eike Batista had been able to float OSX within his target range then he would have cemented his place as the Powerpoint King’. At the start of bookbuilding it was only Batista’s involvement that meant it wasn’t seen as a pipedream.

“If it were anybody else, in this market, I would say the deal would flop,” said a Latam portfolio manager for a sovereign wealth fund at the start of bookbuilding.

Even on the new terms the deal would still standout among those that have already priced this year.

The new range was set at R$800-$1,333, but pricing is only expected to be R$800-$1,000 as the original range was R$1,000-$1,333. The deal will price later today, a day late. OSX originally planned to sell a minimum of 5.5m shares, however that amount is expected to be downsized.

This comes amid rumors that OSX had such a hard time building its book that controller Eike Batista himself may have stepped in to buy as much as 25% of the deal. During the two weeks of its roadshow, the company hit every part of the globe as four teams met investors in Brazil, North America, Europe and Asia, including a long stay in the Middle East to meet sovereign wealth funds.

Credit Suisse, Bradesco BBI, BTG Pactual, Itau BBA and Morgan Stanley are the joint bookrunners, while Barclays Capital, HSBC and Banco Votorantim have come in on the second tier.

OSX Chairman Eike Batista used a similarly high pricing strategy to sell stakes in his other holdings such as OGX, the exploration & production company with which OSX has contracts.

Joint-bookrunners Credit Suisse, Bradesco BBI, BTG Pactual, Itau BBA and Morgan Stanley are targeting pricing for March 16. Barclays Capital, HSBC and Banco Votorantim are second-tier underwriters on the deal. The banks are planning to launch the formal roadshow within the next few days.

OSX and its bankers intend hit every corner of the globe as four teams will separate to meet investors over a two-week marketing period. Team one will focus on Brazil; team two, North America; team three, Europe; and team four, Asia and stops in the Middle East to meet with sovereign wealth funds.

BTG Pactual, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Bradesco BBI are running the books. WTorre has a variety of buildings in its portfolio, including high-end malls, soccer stadiums and ports.