In its second major IPO on behalf of a Chilean company in the past month, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has represented underwriters who led the initial public offering of Chilean construction and investment firm Inversiones La Construccion SA. The deal, which raised $466 million on the Santiago Stock Exchange when it debuted July 20, constitutes the largest IPO ever in Chile.
Milbank represented a group of leading investment banks in their role as placement agents for the offering, including JPMorgan Chase, BofA Merrill Lynch, and IM Trust.
Trading under the ticker ILC.SN, La Construccion sold more than 32 million shares, priced at $14.48 (7,061 pesos). Based in Santiago, La Construccion said it would use the proceeds to finance investments in Chile’s health care sector. In a noteworthy allocation, approximately 35% of the offering was taken by foreign investors, with a similar amount purchased by institutional investors in Chile.
Milbank partner Marcelo Mottesi, who heads the firm’s Global Securities Group, led the deal team. In June, Mr. Mottesi and Milbank represented Chile’s largest retailer Cencosud S.A. in its U.S. IPO, raising more than $460 million. The deal was part of a global offering that raised approximately $1.3 billion.
“Chile continues to demonstrate that it is one of the most vibrant economies in Latin America, and the offering by ILC – like the earlier IPO by Cencosud – reflects strong investor demand in well-run businesses in Chile, both domestically and internationally,” said Mr. Mottesi. “We are pleased to have worked closely with the underwriters in bringing ILC’s equity debut successfully to market.”
The Milbank team included Global Securities associate Adlin Castro and international attorney Santiago Noguerol.
