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Simpson Thacher recently represented Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Itau BBA USA Securities Inc. and Bradesco Securities, Inc., as placement agents in connection with the initial public offering of 18,556,702 units, each representing one common share and two preferred shares, without par value, of Abril Educação S.A. The units were offered to the public in Brazil, to qualified institutional buyers in the United States under Rule 144A and to non-U.S. persons under Regulation S.  The transaction raised R$371.1 million (approximately US$239.4 million) in proceeds. The offering may be increased by up to US$35.9 million (approximately R$55.7 million) if the over-allotment option is exercised.

Abril Educação is one of the largest primary and secondary education companies in Brazil in terms of revenue, focused on the primary, secondary and pre-university education sectors. Abril Educação estimates that approximately 71% of students and over 63% of primary and secondary schools in Brazil used their services or teaching materials in 2009. Abril Educação is controlled by the Abril Group, one of the largest traditional media groups in Latin America, responsible for the publication highly-respected magazines and web portals in Brazil.

The Simpson Thacher team for this transaction included Jaime Mercado, Thiago Spercel, William A. Langer and Ian Bussinger (Capital Markets – Sao Paulo Office) and Danny Salinas (Tax).