SoftBank funding propels U.S. shares of Brazil's Afya to near 3-month high

Afya

27/04/2021 19:17

April 27 (Reuters) - U.S.-listed shares of Afya Ltd  AFYA.O 
hit their highest in nearly three months in afternoon trading
after the Brazilian medical education group announced a $150
million investment from SoftBank Latin America Fund.
    The stock was up more than 12% at $24.10 by 1745 GMT on
Tuesday.
    The investment will be executed through the purchase of
convertible preferred shares, Afya said, with SoftBank Group
Corp  9984.T  also planning to buy about 2.2 million common
shares of the company from two existing shareholders.
    Based on the closing price of the stock on Monday, this
would represent an additional investment of around $50 million.
    The Japanese conglomerate has been expanding its focus on
healthcare-focused startups in the region and invested in
Brazilian healthtech iClinic last year.
    Afya, which acquired iClinic earlier this year, provides
medical education services to students in Brazil and debuted on
the Nasdaq in 2019.
    After the deal closes, SoftBank would own nearly 8.4% of
Afya's stock, the Brazilian group said. As part of the deal,
Paulo Passoni, a managing investment partner at Softbank, will
join Afya's board within the next 30 days.
    The new capital would be used for acquisitions and
investments, the company said.
    BofA Securities advised Afya on the deal.
    

 (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)
 ((Niket.Nishant@thomsonreuters.com;))