Bioceres SA, inventor of a soybean resistant to drought, is poised to be the first Argentine initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 15 months after receiving local regulatory approval for the seed this week, according to people with knowledge of the plan.
Bioceres, an agriculture technology company based in Rosario, will sell as many as $80.5 million of shares as soon as a window of opportunity opens, two people said, asking not to be named as the plan isn’t public. Bioceres received approval on Oct. 5 for its HB4 stress tolerance trait in soybean seeds from Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
An IPO by Bioceres would be the first by an Argentine company since July 2014 when technology services provider Globant SA sold shares in New York, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In late September, Bioceres filed to list American depositary receipts on the New York Stock Exchange in an IPO through Piper Jaffray Cos. and Banco Itau BBA SA. Argentina is the world’s third-largest producer of soybeans after the U.S. and Brazil.
Geronimo Watson, a spokesman for Bioceres, declined to comment on the IPO in an e-mailed statement, citing regulations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and its Argentine counterpart, known as CNV.
Credit Lockout
Bioceres is targeting a commercial plan for the seeds for the 2016-2107 crop year that Argentine farmers will start planting in October 2016, the people said. Sales proceeds would be used for working capital to have the seeds ready for sale and to develop distribution networks, they said.
Bioceres got the seed approval through Verdeca, a U.S. joint venture with Davis, California-based Arcadia Biosciences Inc.
IPOs out of Argentina have ground to a halt over the last decade as the nation remains locked out of global credit markets. Companies struggle to obtain financing with investors demanding a premium to hold assets from the South American nation.
Argentina, the world’s largest exporter of soybean derivatives, has had two consecutive record soybean crops, the latest at 60.8 million tons.
Chinese Imports
Soybean exports are the country’s largest income source of dollars, primarily because of China, whose global soybean imports have soared to 60 million tons in 2013 from 13 million tons in 2001. China’s soy imports will rise by an additional 20 million tons in the next decade, according to a Banco Rabobank International Brasil SA forecast.
The drought-resistant seed was approved after six years of trials. The seed not only resisted drought but it also improved yields by as much as 14 per cent, according to the Argentine government.
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