SouthRock does offer a slice of the Eataly, say sources

The SouthRock Capital private equity firm based in São Paulo, founded last year, has offered about of 220,000,000 R$ ($ 67,000,000) to acquire a stake in the Group St. Marche, privately, that is one of the partners of the Eataly in Brazil, according to two people familiar with the offer.
The company would pay in cash and receive a note convertible into shares of St. Marche in three years, according to one of the people, who requested anonymity because the discussions are private.
The person said could stop slice SouthRock exceeding 50%, depending on the performance of St. Marche, which operates 20 stores in the State of São Paulo, Brazil''s richest region.
The St. 40% of Eataly''s, Marche, in Brazil.
The Group intends to sell a slice of its participation to reduce the debt and ensure the expansion of the network, said the people.
The Eataly store in Sao Paulo and its international units operate in big cities like New York and Tokyo.
The activities of mergers and acquisitions in Brazil have fallen 30% this year, extending a slump of several years amid the worst recession in decades.
The private equity funds focused on Latin America may now be in a position to start buying assets that were cheaper because of the crisis, especially after signs that the currency may have hit rock bottom.
The SouthRock also offered to buy shares in St. Marche directly from minority shareholders, said the person.
The private equity fund was founded by Kenneth Pope, who was previously head of Bond Management, brazilian assets Manager which is the largest individual investor in St. Marche, with a participation of 30%.
SouthRock and St. Marche refused to comment.