Retailer Luiza Plans to Raise $896 Million in Biggest Brazil IPO This Year

Magazine Luiza SA, a Brazilian electronic goods and furniture retailer, and its shareholders may raise as much as 1.43 billion reais ($896 million) in an initial public offering that would be the biggest in the nation this year.

The company plans to sell up to 67.9 million common shares at 16 reais to 21 reais each, according to a prospectus published in Valor Economico today. The shares are scheduled to be priced on April 28 and begin trading on May 2.

Brazilian cement maker Empresa de Cimentos Liz SA canceled on April 5 a plan to sell shares in an IPO after demand didn’t meet expectations. Five companies sold shares for the first time in the Brazilian market since January. T4F Entretenimento SA, the Brazilian live-entertainment company whose name stands for Time For Fun, and its shareholder postponed the pricing date for its share sale to April 11 from April 7, according to a statement published in Valor Economico today.

“This is not exactly a great moment for IPOs,” said Rogerio Freitas, a partner at Rio de Janeiro-based hedge fund Teorica Investimentos, in a telephone interview. “Rising interest rates in developed nations may hurt equity markets. Only good companies will get good results from share offerings.”

Magazine Luiza’s offering would be the biggest since QGEP Participacoes SA, the oil company owned by Queiroz Galvao SA, raised 1.32 billion reais in February.

Banco Itau BBA SA is arranging the sale for Magazine Luiza.