Saraiva

completed

Summary Of Project Information (SPI)Project NameBRAZIL: Saraiva S.A. Livreiros Editores (“Saraiva”)RegionLatin America and the CaribbeanSectorProject No008141Projected Board DateDecember 15, 1997Company NameSaraiva S.A. Livreiros Editores (“Saraiva”)Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders Saraiva is a listed company on the São Paulo stock exchange (BOVESPA). The Company is controlled by the Saraiva family and the Company’s management, who together own 96% of Saraiva’s common shares and 7% of the preferred shares. Institutional and other local private investors own the remaining shares in the Company.Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment The estimated project cost is US$42.6 million. The proposed IFC investment consists of a US$10 million loan and a US$3 million equity investment, both for its own account.     Location of project and Description of site The project consists of the construction of eight new mega-bookstores which will be located in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The project also contemplates upgrades of information systems in existing stores.      Description of Company and Purpose of Project(include IFC’s Role and Development Impact) Saraiva is a leading Brazilian publisher of educational and legal books. In addition to book publishing activities, the Saraiva group owns a chain of bookstores and has a small but growing electronic data publishing business. Saraiva will be pioneering the mega-bookstore concept in Brazil. The project will positively impact the educational sector in Brazil, which has some of the lowest educational indicators in Latin America. Brazilian students and teachers will have better access to quality instructional and learning materials, both printed and electronic, which will complement Government of Brazil and World Bank initiatives aimed at improving education in Brazil. With annual sales of US$151 million, Saraiva is a relatively small company by Brazilian standards. IFC’s involvement is important as Saraiva is unable to raise the required long-term financing from commercial institutions to fund the project.      Environmental Category and Issues This is a category B project according to IFC’s environmental review procedure because there are very minor environmental issues associated with the expansion and modernization of existing small bookstores or the opening of new bookstores in existing shopping malls in urban areas. Environmental due diligence of the Sponsor’s publishing business, which is not part of IFC’s investment, will be carried out during appraisal to verify that the corporate sponsor is complying with local environmental laws and regulations in related operations. For the bookstores, the sponsors will be required to certify that the shops will be operated in accordance with appropriate fire codes and fire safety measures.The is October 30, 1997 from the Public Information Center.Host country location of environmental documentsAvenida Marquês de São Vincente, 1697 01139-904 São Paulo, SP     Date SPI sent to PIC October 14, 1997“This Summary of Project Information is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of consideration of the proposed transaction by the Corporation’s Board of Directors. It is provided for the purpose of enhancing the transparency of IFC’s activities and should not be construed as presuming the outcome of IFC Board consideration.”For Additional Information contact: Corporate Relations Unit -telephone: (202) 473-7711facsimile: (202) 974-4384Environmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).