(Bloomberg) — Mexican industrial real estate trust Fibra Next is unlikely to go ahead with its highly anticipated initial public offering until early next year, people familiar with the process say.
Most read by Bloomberg
The trust, which this week delayed its plans to go public in Mexico, still lacks required tax and stock market filings, said the people, who requested anonymity because the timing was not disclosed.
A company representative declined to comment. A regulatory filing released Friday showed that Fibra Next was still seeking regulatory approval as the company was in the middle of pricing its IPO on Wednesday.
Fibra Next, a spinout of parent company Fibra Uno Administracion SA, Latin America's largest real estate investment trust, held its initial public offering later in the day. Although the company has pledged to move forward with the process, the lack of regulatory approvals poses a hurdle to what is expected to be Mexico's largest IPO since 2018.
While the company was waiting for the deal to close later this month, it could take weeks to get approvals, according to the people. That would almost certainly delay it until the first half of 2024.
Read more: Mexico's Fibra to postpone IPO due to lack of tax paperwork
The Mexican tax authority did not respond to a request for comment.
Fibra Next said in a filing late Tuesday that the tax benefits of a real estate investment trust (REIT) would only take effect after receiving regulatory approval. The lack of paperwork caused unease among investors and prevented the country's pension funds from participating in the deal.
In building its portfolio on Tuesday, the company had seen strong demand from investors as it sought to sell about 278 million shares at 54 pesos each, raising about $870 million or up to $1.2 billion to take additional options. After canceling the IPO, the company said it would re-enter the market once it received approval from tax authorities.
The story goes on
Fibra Uno shares are up about 3.6% since the deal was canceled.
Fibra Next, which consists of 81 million square feet of warehouses and factories around Mexico City, is seeking to capitalize on investor interest in “nearshoring” – the trend in which manufacturers move to Mexico to be closer to the U.S. market .
Nearshoring-related Mexican companies that have been raising cash since the middle of last year include logistics and industrial real estate specialist Prologis Property Mexico SA and trucking firm Grupo Traxion SAB.
Most read by Bloomberg Businessweek
©2023 Bloomberg LP
Comments are closed.