BNDES exits Vale with $2bn bonds sale

Brazilian development bank BNDES has sold 214 million bond in mining giant Vale for BRL11.5 billion ($2 billion). The bonds carry rights to some properties in the north.

Of the total sold, 142 million bonds were held by the government and the rest by BNDES and its equity arm BNDESPar. Each bond was priced at BRL53.50. The bonds were issued by Vale in the 1990s after the company, then called Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, was privatized. The government bought the bonds to prevent a hostile takeover of CVRD by a foreign company. The debenture sale was coordinated by Bradesco BBI, Citigroup, Itaú BBA and JP Morgan and is part of BNDES’ strategy to offload participations in major companies and invest in smaller firms.