Mexico's Geo shareholders approve capital increase

Mexican home builder Geo, which recently restructured its heavy debt load, on Thursday said it won shareholder approval to raise up to 3.5 billion Mexican pesos (about US$210 million) to bring its operations back to normal and boost growth.

Geo said it would issue about 359.7 million new shares, giving existing shareholders the right to purchase 6.0826 additional share for every share they own.

However, it expects investment funds Capital Inmobiliario and Solida Banorte to provide most or all of the capital, as the firms agreed in April.

The shareholders meeting also named Juan Carlos Braniff, general director of Capital Inmobiliario, as the new president of the board of directors to replace Luis Orvananos, who founded Geo more than 40 years ago and had been in the post since then.

Geo was under bankruptcy protection until earlier this year, after shareholders approved a debt restructuring plan. The company used to be Mexico's No. 1 homebuilder but saw fortunes slide amid slumping sales of its low-cost homes far from urban centers.

The company's shares have been suspended since 2013 because it was not reporting financial statements, but Geo said it hopes to resume trading in the third week of December.