IRB Brasil Postpones IPO Amid Stock Market Turmoil: Reuters

IRB Brasil RE, the country’s biggest reinsurer, postponed its initial public offering amid market turmoil, Reuters reported, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.

Investment banks managing the sale found it unfeasible to proceed, Reuters said. The government expected to raise about 1.5 billion reais ($389 million) from the IPO, two officials with knowledge of the talks told Bloomberg in August.

Latin America’s biggest economy is facing its longest contraction since the 1930s amid a corruption scandal and falling commodities prices. Brazil’s economic malaise, exacerbated by President Dilma Rousseff’s inability to shore up the budget because of her dwindling popularity, has pushed the Ibovespa stock gauge down 34 percent in dollar terms this year.

Brazilian companies have completed only one IPO in 2015, down from eight in the same period of 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country had no first-time sale in the same period of last year.

Shareholders of FPC Par Corretora de Seguros SA raised $229 million in an offering in June, while Brazilian companies and their investors raised $8 billion in the same period of 2013, the data show.

Related:

• Brazil Insurer Caixa Seguridade, Reinsurer IRB Plan IPOs to Raise $3.6 Billion
• IRB Brasil RE Seeks to More Aggressive Growth in Latam, Africa; Weighs IPO