Brazilian private equity firm said it secured a $200m 10-year loan denominated in BRL to finance its buyout activities in Brazil. Itau lent GP the funds and apparently did not syndicate the facility, says a banker away from the transaction. Pricing on the bilateral loan was not disclosed. GP’s co-CEO Antonio Bonchristiano says the tenor of the funds match the long term investment horizon of GP’s portfolio, and also sends a positive signal about LatAm’s corporate credit environment. Long-dated loans denominated in local currency are a rare occurrence in LatAm.
Yearly Archives: 2008
Posted inDaily Brief
Javer Launches $160m Loan
Javer, the Mexican homebuilder, will today launch a $160m 5-year amortizing loan, say executives close to the process. Proceeds will be used to refinance debt and general corporate purposes. The facility is being led by Credit Suisse and already counts on the participation of ABN AMRO and Mexico’s Inbursa as MLAs. In July 2007, private equity firm Advent International, along with a group of minority investors, agreed to acquire the company for a reported $500m. But the buyers backed out of the deal following disagreements on price and Javer today remains a standalone entity, say bankers familiar with the company.
Posted inDaily Brief
Telemar Dials up BRL War Chest
Brazil’s Telemar is summoning relationship banks to put together a BRL16bn acquisition facility. The company, whose subsidiary Oi is making progress with discussions for the acquisition of Brasil Telecom, is heard to have narrowed a short list of potential bookrunners down to eight. And it is seeking to denominate as much as possible in local currency, which one banker believes could account for well over half the total. Such a large BRL facility will test the depth of the local loan market and foreign banks’ willingness to take FX risk. A banker close to the process estimates the financing commitment will be for the full BRL16bn, but that the actual facility may vary in size depending on the availability of other markets such as local debentures and cross border bonds. Tenors and pricing are still being decided. Known relationship banks for Telemar include Santander, ABN AMRO, Citi, Calyon, Societe Generale and JPMorgan as well as locals Banco do Brasil, Itau, and Bradesco. Legal shareholder disputes between investors in the companies, including Citi and Rio-based asset manager Opportunity, have delayed the acquisition process.
Posted inDaily Brief
Telmex MXP Bonds Set for Thursday
Mexico’s Telmex plans to sell up to MXP2.5bn in 10-year fixed-rate peso-denominated bonds Thursday. The funds raised will go to general corporate purposes. Inbursa and HSBC are managing the AAA rated transaction.
Posted inDaily Brief
Banco de Bogota to Sell Domestic Bonds
Colombia’s Banco de Bogota plans to sell up to COP200bn ($109.9m) in 2014 bonds today. A floating-rate tranche is basis IPC and another will pay over Colombia’s benchmark DTF rate. A third tranche will pay a fixed coupon of up to 7% and be denominated in the UVR inflation-linked unit. Proceeds will go towards the bank’s capital base. The transaction is rated AA+ by Duff & Phelps Colombia, and managed by Banco de Bogota’s own capital markets unit.
Posted inDaily Brief
Posadas to Buy Back $189.2m Bonds
Grupo Posadas announced plans to buy back $189.2m in 8.75% of 2011 bonds, following the closing of a tender offer. The total represents 84% of the $225m outstanding. The hotel operator is paying $1,050 per $1,000 in an offer launched March 17, with Credit Suisse as dealer manager. Posadas is funding most of the transaction with proceeds from MXP1.5bn in 2013 floating-rate bonds it sold last week, also via Credit Suisse.
Posted inDaily Brief
Braskem May Boost Investments in Venezuela
Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem may add to its $3.5bn commitment its joint venture with Venezuela’s Pequiven if it current investments fare well, a company spokesman tells LatinFinance. The official confirmed statements made over the weekend by a Braskem representative. Braskem said in February it would deploy $3.5bn to build a petrochemical complex in Venezuela, part of a joint venture with Japan’s Sojitz and Pequiven.
Posted inDaily Brief
Banorte CEO Resigns
Luis Pena, CEO of Mexico’s Grupo Financiero Banorte, resigned from his position, the bank said Monday. Banorte did not give a reason for the resignation. Pena joined the institution, one of Mexico’s last big banks owned by local investors, as chief executive in 2004, and has overseen a period of expansion in Mexico and the US. Alejandro Valenzuela, head of treasury and capital markets, has been named interim CEO. Banorte gave no details regarding permanent plans for replacing Pena.
Posted inDaily Brief
Moody’s Mulls Upgrade for Ambev
Moody’s has raised the outlook to positive from stable of AmBev’s Baa1 local currency issuer rating. AmBev’s foreign currency issuer rating was also affirmed at Baa3, but with a stable outlook, since it is constrained by Brazil’s foreign currency ceiling of Baa3. “The change in outlook to positive primarily reflects AmBev’s ability to exceed our expectation in terms of revenues, Ebitda margin and cash flow to debt metrics for FY 2007 . . . [as well as] the company’s generally stronger credit metrics than most of its global peers,” says Moody’s senior analyst Soummo Mukherjee. “The positive outlook is also based on our expectation that AmBev will be able to offset higher commodity prices and continue to improve operating and Ebitda margins going forward,” adds Mukherjee. Based in Sao Paulo, AmBev is the largest brewer in LatAm and the fifth largest worldwide in terms of volume.
Posted inDaily Brief
Grupo Mexico Plans Share Split
Mexican mining and railroad company Grupo Mexico plans to put a 3-for-1 share split to shareholders at an April 30 meeting. The transaction applies to MXP2.6bn in outstanding series B shares. Shares closed at MXP75.22 Monday.