Brazilian companies that want to go public this year may have to delay their market debut. Fears about the economic impact of the coronavirus have affected global stock exchanges at levels similar to those of the 2008 crisis. And an offering amid sharp declines can harm the company, bringing down its market value.

Folha learned that BV (formerly Banco Votorantim) must wait at least two weeks to evaluate the possibility of setting a date for the IPO.

Meanwhile, the rental company of heavy vehicles and equipment Vamos closed the schedule fixing the price range at which it intends to sell its shares and announced its plan to price the shares on March 25. The plan is to move up to R$ 1.5 billion in the offer.

Maintaining Vamos's calendar is the opposite of the expected IPO market in times of turbulence.

In a single trading session in February, for example, the Brazilian stock market plunged 7%. Last month, the index accumulated the worst drop (-8.5%) since the truckers' strike in May 2018, when the Ibovespa fell 10.9% in the month. The falls continued in the first week of March.

The devaluation of the market makes the valuation process more difficult - to assess how much a company is worth to sell it. In this estimate, an essential component is a comparison with industry peers that are already on the Stock Exchange. In times of risk aversion, the value of companies may be distorted and lead the newcomer to be valued at much less than expected by shareholders.

_{Translated by Kiratiana Freelon}

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