By Paula Laier
SAO PAULO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian e-commerce company B2W Companhia Digital BTOW3.SA will raise 2.5 billion reais ($618 million) in a share offering, the company said in a late Monday notice to shareholders.
In the notice, B2W said it will issue 64.1 million new shares at 39 reais per share. B2W's controlling shareholder Lojas Americanas SA LAME4.SA has committed to subscribing its share and the stake of other shareholders not willing to acquire the new shares, the notice said.
The capital raise "is not a surprise" given B2W leverage, net debt equivalent to 4 times its annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a common gauge of operational profit known as EBITDA, analysts at Itau BBA said in a note to clients.
"Improvement of the company's logistic platform is essential to assure the sustainability of its growth", the Latam team of retail analysts wrote.
($1 = 4.0435 reais)
(Reporting by Paula Laier; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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