Empresas CMPC SA, a leading Latin American forestry, pulp, paper, tissue and packaging products producer, announced that the Company's Board of Directors has set the price for CMPC's forthcoming capital raise.
The capital raise of up to 155, 602, 948 shares will be priced at CLP1, 480, or US$3.1237*, per share during the preferential rights period, when shareholders of record as of May 3, 2013, may subscribe to the offering in a fixed proportion to their holdings.
The preferential rights period will begin on May 9, 2013 and conclude on June 8, 2013. The Matte Group, CMPC's controlling shareholder, has stated its intention to subscribe to the offering in proportion to its holdings.
The capital raise marks the first steps of the previously announced financing package for CMPC's planned expansion of the Guaiba pulp facility in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Additional steps in the financing package may include a bond offering, the sale of non-core assets including the Company's 7.7% stake in Bicecorp S.A., together with some real estate assets, the use of a BRL$2,510 million (approximately US$1.2 billion) credit facility with Brazilian development bank BNDES and, if it is deemed necessary, a potential second capital raise of up to $250 million.
The expansion of the Guaiba mill will increase CMPC's pulp production capacity by approximately 1.3 million tons to 4.1 million tons per year, helping the Company double its share of the global pulp market. Total investment in the project will be approximately US$2.1 billion.
Shareholders approved the capital increase at an extraordinary shareholders meeting on January 24, 2013. The pricing of the transaction was fixed at a meeting of the Board of Directors on April 19, 2013.
