Milbank Represents Underwriters in Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V. US$535 Million SEC Registered Share Offering
Initial Issuance Oversubscribed Resulting in Exercise of US$11.7 Million Over Allotment Option
NEW YORK, October 15, 2007 – Underscoring investors continuing confidence in the expanding Mexican economy and companies that will benefit from this expansion, Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V. (“ICA”), the largest Mexican engineering, construction and procurement firm, has issued US$535 million of new shares locally in a public offering and in the United States in an SEC registered offering. The international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, led by partners Taisa Markus and Michael Fitzgerald, represented Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and the other underwriters in negotiating and structuring the transaction.
Ms. Markus commented, “The expectation is that ICA will continue to benefit from continued growth in the Mexican economy and investment in infrastructure as a result of the Mexican government’s recently announced National Infrastructure Plan. The offering was structured as a two tranche global equity offering. The securities were registered with the United Securities and Exchange Commission and with the CNBV in Mexico. In the United States, the securities were registered on a short form WKSI shelf registration statement. ICA is among the first foreign private issuers to take advantage of this relatively recent change in the U.S. securities laws for an issuance of equity securities.”
Mr. Fitzgerald noted, “Work on the transaction continued during a turbulent market environment. The success of the offering reflects both renewed demand for equity securities of Latin American issuers and investor expectations for both ICA and Mexico.”
The US$535 million offering (90 million shares) was comprised of an offering of 47.0 million shares (11.7 million ADSs) sold in the United States and outside of Mexico and 31.3 million shares sold in Mexico in a public offering together with an over allotment option for 11.7 million shares. The international shares were priced at $23.76 per ADS on the New York Stock Exchange 65 pesos per share on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The over-allotment option was exercised on October 4, 2007. The proceeds of the offering will be used by ICA and its subsidiaries to execute current and new construction projects.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. served as the global coordinator of the combined offering, sole bookrunner of the international offering and representative of the underwriters, which included Goldman, Sachs & Co., UBS Investment Bank and Merrill Lynch & Co.
In addition to global securities partners Taisa Markus and Michael Fitzgerald, the Milbank team representing Citibank and the underwriters included associates Arturo Carrillo and Armando Valdes and former foreign associate Carlos Chavez.
About Milbank
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a preeminent global law firm that is recognized for more than 140 years for providing innovative legal solutions in many of the world’s largest, most complex, “first-ever” corporate transactions, including capital markets, corporate finance, project finance, acquisition finance, and other major fields of law practice. Milbank clients range from prominent multinational financial, industrial and commercial enterprises to governments, institutions and individuals. The Firm is headquartered in New York, with offices in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. To learn more about Milbank and its attorneys, go to www.milbank.com.