RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Soma Group has raised almost R$885 (US$170) million through its public offering with shares sold at R$19.20, representing a 2.5% discount over yesterday’s closing price, which stood at R$19.70.
However, the most significant aspect of this operation is that the value was almost 18% higher than the closing price of the day before the offering was announced and 36% over the R$14.10 shown on the B3 screens the day before the group’s purchase of Hering was reported.
Soon after the acquisition of the Santa Catarina company there was a flurry of criticism and ‘analysis’ claiming that Soma Group’s CEO Roberto Jatahy had rushed and overpaid for Hering – R$5.1 billion in a combined package of cash and stock. The Soma share price dropped to below R$12.00 the week the deal was announced.
After almost three months, the perception is quite different. The demand is also evidence of this. The list of interested parties was 5 times the total placed, i.e., the company led by Jatahy could have raised R$4.5 billion in the market.