World’s biggest tequila maker Jose Cuervo aims for $1B IPO

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Jose Cuervo, the world’s largest tequila producer, on Tuesday announced its longawaited initial public offering, which could raise up to $1 billion, another sign of a wider revival in Latin American stock flotations.

Cuervo, North America’s dominant tequila brand, could generate investor interest by virtue of its two-centuries-old tradition, the fashion for premium tequila at the expense of vodka, as well as a return to growth in the key US market after several years of decline.

“Jose Cuervo has managed to capitalize (on the market) pretty well, mostly because of their brands, but also because it’s one of the oldest tequila companies in Mexico,” said MetAnalisis analyst Gerardo Copca, adding he thought the timing was right to launch an IPO.

Copca noted there have been only two or three IPOs in Mexico this year, though the country was one of the few bright spots last year in a generally bleak world climate for stock flotations.

Elsewhere in Latin America, the long-dormant Brazilian IPO market has also shown signs of revival.

The filing provided few details about the IPO, but a source familiar with the situation suggested the company could seek to raise between $500 million and $1 billion.

The company, known officially as Becle, said the stock sale would be handled by the local units of Morgan Stanley JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Banco Santander and local brokerage GBM Grupo Bursatil Mexicano.

Along with the Mexico bourse flotation, the company also plans a private placement to investors in the US, where the tequila market has increasingly been shifting toward high- end 100 percent agave brands.

Cuervo, which said in its prospectus that the offering’s proceeds will be used to fund organic and external growth, and broaden its portfolio, has also moved toward such premium brands, taking on rivals including Diageo, with which it once had a distribution deal. –