LatinFinance - July/August 2015 - 44

discount. That in turn was sharply larger
than the 8.9 billion pesos that Fibra Uno
raised in the first follow-on in 2012, and the
3.5 billion pesos raised in the 2011 IPO.
"It's been a constant progression of
broadening and institutionalizing the
shareholder base globally over these
series of transactions ... there has been
an evolution in the type of investors that
participate in the Fibra Uno deals and it
has become a truly global shareholder
base," Gilfond says. Fibra Uno is analyzing
a pipeline of potential acquisitions for 2015
and 2016 worth some 50 billion pesos,
which suggests that it may return to the
equity markets sooner rather than later. LF

the notes and ratcheted down pricing to
6.875% from an initial guidance of 7.25%.
The deal's stand-out execution won it
LatinFinance's 2014 award for Corporate
Liability Management of the Year.
The vote of confidence from investors
stems in part from Marfrig's campaign to
increase transparency as it implements a
more austere approach. "We saw a window
in the market to execute the opportunity,
and the response from investors came with
the gain in confidence that they have with
us," says chief financial officer Ricardo
Florence, adding that the investor relations
department has been very active in the

BEST CAPITAL MARKETS STRATEGY:
BRAZIL

A Frequent Visitor

Marfrig

Issuer

Dexterity and timing
characterize Marfrig's
activity in the capital
markets, as it brought
down funding costs with a
number of liability
management exercises

Marfrig Capital Markets Activity
Original
Amount
(Millions)

Issue date

Maturity

Yield at
issue Price

Marfrig Overseas

USD375

Nov. 2006

Nov. 2016

9.625%

Marfrig Overseas

USD500

May 2010

May 2020

9.500%

Marfrig Overseas

USD275

March 2014

May 2020

9.500%

Marfrig Holdings B.V.

USD750

May 2011

May 2018

8.375%

Marfrig Holdings B.V.

USD600

Jan. 2013

July 2017

9.875%

Marfrig Holdings B.V.

USD400

Sept. 2013

Sept. 2021

11.250%

Marfrig Holdings B.V.

USD850

June 2014

June 2019

6.875%

Moy Park Bondco Plc

£200

May 2014

May 2021

6.250%

Moy Park Bondco Plc

£100

April 2015

May 2021

6.250%

Source: Marfrig

Brazilian protein producer Marfrig and
its subsidiaries came to market with more
than $1 billion in liability management
exercises during the year ending March
31. The issuer's volume of activity, timing
and flexibility in execution against a
backdrop of investors' growing aversion to
Brazilian debt highlights Marfrig against a
particularly active set of peers.
Marfrig's LMEs included an
oversubscribed cash tender offer in April
2014 for a combined $130 million of its
11.25% $400 million 2021 bonds and 9.875%
$600 million 2017 bonds. Investors that
missed out on that window found a wider
one in June, when Marfrig announced
a buyback offer for all of its outstanding
2021 and 2017 paper, which it paid for with
an $850 million five-year issuance. The
repurchased paper in that deal represented
more than 20% of the company's net debt
at the end of first quarter of 2014. Lead
managers BTG Pactual, HSBC, Itaú and
Morgan Stanley took $5 billion of orders for

44 LATINFINANCE.COM - July/August 2015

RICARDO FLORENCE, MARFRIG

"WE HAD THE BOOK
TO DO THE DEAL,
BUT IT WOULD BE
TOO RISKY TO LEAVE
THE BOOKS OPEN FOR
10 TO 15 DAYS MORE
BECAUSE NOBODY
KNEW WHAT THE
REACTION OF THE
MARKET WOULD BE"

last year in working to improve financial
statement transparency, attending
conferences and non-deal roadshows.
Marcelo di Lorenzo joined Marfrig as its
investor relations officer in March after
the company separated the role out from
the responsibilities of the CFO. Di Lorenzo
hails from venture capital firm 3i, where he
was managing director and head of Brazil.
Despite its success in June, the wave
of global risk aversion that plagued
Brazilian issuers following the corruption
investigations stemming from the
Petrobras scandal took its toll on Marfrig
in the second half of 2014. The company,
along with bookrunners BB Securities,
Banco Bradesco and BTG Pactual,
scrapped a $600 million unsecured
issuance in November that was earmarked
to fund Marfrig's buy back offer of a 9.5%
$775 million 2020 note. JBS and Cosan
made similar moves.
Players perceived Marfrig's retraction as
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