Shares of Colombia’s No. 1 retail chain, Almacenes Exito fell nearly 7 percent on Thursday after the company said it was weighing issuing new shares to finance expansion plans.
Exito’s board said late on Wednesday that it had authorized the issuance of up to $1.4 billion in stock and had approved a plan to buy majority control of two Uruguayan supermarket chains from France’s Casino for $746 million.
Exito shares fell to 24,200 pesos ($13.60) in early trading from Wednesday’s close of 26,000 pesos.
President Carlos Mario Giraldo told Reuters on Wednesday night that details of the issuance would come out after a meeting on July 6. It was not known if the shares would be issued on local or international markets.