Investors show hunger for Mexico's Cemex

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Investors eagerly bought into Mexico's Cemex on Wednesday in an oversubscribed share offering that underpins the cement maker's recovery plans.

The world's No. 3 cement maker sealed a $1.8 billion share offer on strong demand late on Tuesday and placed the stock as markets in New York and Mexico City opened on Wednesday.

The equity sale was crucial to the Monterrey-based company's promise to repay its creditors $15 billion by early 2014 and raise capital as part of a drawn out restructuring that the company agreed with banks in August.

"The demand was very high and was several times greater than what was on offer," said Carlos Hermosillo, an analyst at Vector brokerage in Mexico City.

Shares in Cemex (CMXCPO.MX) (CX.N) opened lower on Wednesday as the new equity, which was sold at a slight discount, poured onto the market, diluting the value of existing shares.

But investors soon brushed aside those concerns, sending the stock up 4 percent in Mexico City before paring those gains to be 1.2 percent higher in morning trade.

In Mexico's biggest stock offering in years, Cemex priced 1.3 billion Ordinary Participation Certificates and American Depositary Receipts at $12.50 each, or 16.64825 Mexican pesos. The company plans to sell another 195 million shares in an over-allotment option.

The offer follows German building materials maker HeidelbergCement's (HEIG.DE) $6.5 billion share sale on Tuesday in the biggest equity placement in Germany this year.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott, Gabriela Lopez and Cyntia Barrera; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)