Votorantim suspends $4.9bn Brazil IPO

Financial Times 19 June 2013
Votorantim Cimentos, Brazil’s largest cement producer, suspended plans to raise R$10.3bn ($4.9bn) from an initial public offering that would have been the second-largest globally this year, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The move came as investors said the company was seeking too steep a valuation and as market conditions in Brazil have deteriorated in recent weeks.
The IPO was stalled by a mixture of regulatory, economic and political concerns, as well as tough conditions for emerging market securities. The deal was intended to spin off the cement unit, which has a 37 per cent market share in Brazil, from the Votorantim conglomerate.
It had drawn a large number of sizeable offers but they were below the planned R$16-R$19 range, which the company had refused to lower, said one person familiar with the decision.
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