Sao Paulo: Renova Energia SA, a Brazilian developer of wind and hydroelectric power, is raising 172.5 million reais ($98 million, Dh359 million), a fifth of what it had initially planned before shelving its initial public offering in March.

Renova is selling 10 million units, each consisting of one common share and two preferred shares, plus two possible supplementary offerings, for 15 reais each, according to a regulatory filing. The company, based in Sao Paulo, had sought a range of 15 to 17 reais per unit, according to a prospectus. Its original plan, announced March 1, was to raise as much as 868 million reais.

‘Good thermometer'

Renova postponed its offering almost four months ago after billionaire Eike Batista's OSX Brasil SA cut the size of its IPO by as much as 67 per cent. Five of Brazil's seven IPOs this year sold below the estimated range as Europe's debt crisis spurred a flight from riskier assets, helping drive a 7.5 per cent drop in the benchmark Bovespa index since January 1.

"It's not an ideal moment to do an IPO," said Joao Pedro Brugger, who helps oversee 70 million reais at Leme Investimentos in Florianopolis, Brazil. "We're in a moment of pretty high risk aversion in the market. The demand will be a good thermometer for other companies thinking of doing IPOs as well."

The offering comes a week after Banco do Brasil SA, Latin America's biggest bank by assets, and its shareholders said they were raising 9.76 billion reais in Brazil's largest stock sale in eight months. Companies refrained from selling shares for two months before that, following 13 offerings in the first four months of the year.

Ennakl shares 23 times oversubscribed

An initial public offering by Tunisian car retailer Ennakl Automobiles on the Tunis and Casablanca bourses was 23 times oversubscribed, the Tunis stock market said in a statement.

Ennakl, whose chairman is the son-in-law of the Tunisian president, is offering 40 per cent of its share capital in the fixed-price offering, which values the company at about $212 million (Dh778 million).

The stock market's statement did not say how the shares would be allocated to the investors who had requested them. It said that more details would be released when the IPO is finalised on Monday.

Most of the shares will be listed on the Tunis bourse, which has shown strong growth this year but has low levels of liquidity.

Built mainly on tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing for export, the economy is closely tied to the European Union.

Some analysts warn that the Eurozone's stuttering recovery from recession could have a negative effect.