Anima Educa��o SA, a Brazilian education company, hired investment banks Ita� BBA and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to advise on an initial public offering, two people with direct knowledge of the situation said on Friday.Anima, which owns three universities located in the cities of Belo Horizonte and Santos, in southeastern Brazil, wants to sell shares to investors to expand and strengthen its capital position, said one of the sources, who declined to be identified because the process is private. Anima was founded in 2003.The company's decision to sell shares in an IPO coincides with efforts by players in Brazil's thriving education sector to bring in investors to help fund expansion and acquire smaller rivals. Kroton Educacional SA and Abril Educa��o SA are companies in the sector that have won over investors amid President Dilma Rousseff's vow to work closely with private companies to boost education coverage and quality.Investors have seen such an association as a boon for profits and the guarantee for moderate regulation amid a tumble in the country's equity market this year. Shares of education companies have gained about 7 percent this year, compared with a 13 percent drop in the benchmark Bovespa stock index.
Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) is a bank holding company, and a financial holding company. Shares of BAC fell by 0.27% or $-0.04/share to $14.53. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $7.83 and as high as $15.03. On average, 112571000 shares of BAC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 57639768.
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