Mexico’s Biggest IPO Since 2018 Hits Last Minute Tax Hurdle

Michael O'Boyle
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- The initial public offering of a Mexican industrial property trust known as Fibra Next hit a last minute snag after the company said it has yet to receive a sign-off from local tax authorities.

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The tax benefits of being a real estate investment trust (REIT) would not apply until it receives officials’ approval, the company said in a filing late Tuesday. The pricing date for the IPO in the filing was still set for Nov. 29. Bankers involved in the deal, who requested anonymity since they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said there was no legal impediment for the offer to be priced. The final decision on whether to go ahead with the launch rests on the company, they added.

Shares in parent company Fibra Uno Administracion SA, which is carving out its industrial properties to create Next, fell as much as 3.6% in Mexico City as the benchmark stock index rose.

A representative for Fibra Uno did not respond to a request for comment.

“The timing is unfortunate with all of this happening the day of the pricing,” said Rodolfo Ramos, a strategist at Bradesco BBI, who’s not involved in the sale. “The questions that it raises over the structure and financial impact do not bode well for investor sentiment, and we could even see some investors reassessing their participation.”

Fibra Next is seeking to tap into the excitement around “nearshoring” — the trend where manufacturers are moving to Mexico to be closer to the US market. The IPO was originally planned to raise as much as $1.5 billion, but was pared back after the firm struggled to drum up enough investor interest at the valuation it was seeking.

The company is aiming to sell up to 277.8 million shares known as CBFIs in the offering at around 54 pesos each, according to a filing on Mexico’s stock exchange website. The sale includes over-allotment options that would bring the total raised to as much as 20.7 billion pesos ($1.2 billion).

While no big companies have listed shares in Mexico since late 2017, there has been a trickle of REITs. Fibra Next’s listing is set to be the biggest IPO since the $1.6 billion sale in early 2018 of a real estate trust tied to an airport project that was canceled by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

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