Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Shareholders of Cetip SA - Balcao Organizado de Ativos & Derivativos, Brazil’s biggest clearing house, are raising up to 881.4 million reais ($509 million) in the nation’s fourth initial share sale this year.

Cetip’s investors are selling as many as 67.8 million shares for 13 reais each, according to data posted on the Web site of Brazil’s securities regulator last night. The price was at the low end of the 13 reais to 17 reais estimated in the Rio de Janeiro-based company’s prospectus.

“Cetip is an interesting company in a good growth business that’s somewhat protected from competition and with high profitability, but there’s the question of price,” Eduardo Roche, who helps manage the equivalent of $389 million at Banco Modal SA in Rio de Janeiro, said before the pricing yesterday. A price above 13 reais is “too expensive,” he said.

The share sale is Brazil’s 10th in the past five weeks as companies seek to tap into a rally that has sent the benchmark Bovespa index up 68 percent this year. The 2 percent tax the government imposed last week on the purchase of stock and fixed- income investments by foreign investors may have reduced demand for Cetip shares, Roche said in a phone interview.

“The tax is a bit of a nuisance in the short term because if foreign investors think there’s limited upside, paying another 2 percent on top of that, it complicates an already tight pricing situation,” said Roche, who didn’t take part in the initial public offering. “And not only do you have the financial effect, you also have that doubt that, since there was already some changes in the market, there could be other measures in the future that affect trading.”

Santander, VisaNet

International investors bought 57 percent of the 23.3 billion reais raised in public offerings that had been completed as of Oct. 20, according to exchange owner BM&FBovespa SA.

Banco Santander SA’s Brazilian unit this month set a record for an IPO in the country, raising about 12.3 billion reais. That sale topped the previous record of Cia. Brasileira de Meios de Pagamento, the payment-processing company known as VisaNet that raised 8.4 billion reais in June. Tivit Terceirizacao de Tecnologia & Servicos SA, a computer-services company, said it sold about 661 million reais of shares in an IPO last month.

VisaNet has climbed 5.3 percent since selling shares for 15 reais each, compared with a 21 percent gain for the Bovespa index in the period. Tivit has dropped 3.5 percent, while the benchmark index rose 3 percent since the IPO. Santander fell 4.3 percent, compared with a 0.8 percent gain for the index.

More Than Worth

“For good quality assets there will always be demand,” said Flavio Sznajder, a partner at Bogari Capital in Rio, which didn’t take part in the Cetip IPO. “But some people have been trying to sell assets for more than they’re worth.”

Companies have raised about 38 billion reais this year in initial and secondary offerings in Brazil, according to the exchange. That tops the 34.3 billion reais in all of last year.

Cetip provided custody services for 96 percent of private fixed-asset investments as of June, along with registrations for about 78 percent of derivatives traded over the counter, according to its preliminary prospectus. The company reported 60 percent growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization during the first six months of 2009 compared with the year-earlier period.

Banco Itau BBA was the manager for the sale. The shares begin trading tomorrow.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paulo Winterstein in Sao Paulo at pwinterstein@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 27, 2009 16:59 EDT