Latin American Economy & Business - January 2016 (ISSN 1741-7430)

Eurnekian bets on IPOs: Argentine businessman Eduardo Eurnekian is reported to be planning up to four IPOs on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this year, arguing that conditions could be “ideal” for such a move if Argentina successfully resolves its long legal dispute with the hold-out creditors. Reuters said that Eurnekian, one of the country’s most successful businessmen, was thinking of floating shares in his airports operating company, in his energy unit Compañía General de Combustibles (CGC), in his nanotechnology group (which trades as Unitec Blue in Argentina and as Unitec in Brazil), and in his agricultural company as well. He said launching the IPOs would be a complex process, but he hoped it could develop in tandem with Argentina’s gradual re-insertion into global capital markets. He would use proceeds from the IPOs to fund expansion of his holding group, Corporación América, into other South American markets such as Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. Corporación América, which has overseas interests as far away as Italy, Morocco, and Armenia, has an estimated annual revenue of US$2bn. Eurnekian said he was optimistic about the long term outlook for gas – through GGC he has an interest in gas fields in Patagonia.