DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Uruguay's Union Agriculture Group Corp. filed plans Tuesday to
sell up to an estimated $287.5 million of common shares in an
initial public offering.
The company is one of the largest corporate agricultural
landholders and operators in Uruguay, as well as a leading producer
and exporter, according to its prospectus filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. It said it is focused on acquiring
high-quality but underutilized agricultural land and developing it
for efficient, sustainable output, such as by planting soybeans or
rice on land previously only used for cattle grazing, it gave as an
example.
It plans to use proceeds from the offering to acquire more
farmland.
The company was formed in January 2008. Last year it recorded
$1.6 million in sales from agricultural produce, as well as
"biological assets and services rendered." It posted a loss of
about $358,438, hurt by production costs and operating expenses
amid sales and real-estate gains.
The company has applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol UAGR.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com