One of Mexico's biggest banks, Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB, sold around US$2.5 billion worth of shares in the country's largest equity sale of the year yesterday.

David Suarez, head of investor relations for the bank, said that Grupo Financiero Banorte priced 447.4 million shares at MXN71.5 per share for an overall worth of about MXN32 billion. In US-dollar terms, the total amount sold was US$2.2 billion plus an additional overallotment option for the participating underwriters. He added that the offer was 3.5 times oversubscribed.

Grupo Financiero Banorte went ahead with its sale even as several Mexican firms have postponed their own offerings following a panic in emerging-market assets around June. Banorte was aiming for a sale earlier this year of as much as US$3 billion.

"The sale shows the appeal of Banorte to institutional investors. It's very adverse market conditions. Some companies have been withdrawing their offerings," Suarez explained.