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Urbi Poised for Local Bond Sale

Urbi Desarrollos Urbanos (URBI) is expected to price up to MXP1bn ($74m) today in the Mexican domestic bond market. Price talk for the Mexican homebuilder has widened out to TIIE+370bp-380bp area, from an earlier indications of TIIE+350bp. Proceeds will be used to refinance existing long-term and short-term debt. With the proposed issuance, Urbi will have no substantial debt maturities until 2014, says Moody’s, which rates the deal A3 on a national scale. BBVA is managing the sale. Urbi last visited the bond markets in January 2010, issuing $300m in a cross-border sale.

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Vergara Named Chile CB Head

Rodrigo Vergara has been named governor of the Chile’s central bank, replacing outgoing head Jose De Gregorio. His term starts Saturday and lasts 5 years. Vergara, already a board member, had long been thought to be the most likely successor, according to Nomura. Chile holds its final interest rate decision meeting of the year Tuesday.

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Banco de Chile Prices MXP Debut

Banco de Chile has raised MXP1.5bn ($111m) in a Mexican domestic bond market debut, pricing a 3-year bond at TIIE+ 60bp. With this transaction, the bank becomes the third Chilean issuer to raise debt in Mexico, following similar moves by Banco de Credito e Inversiones (BCI) and miner Molymet. Over 20 accounts participated, including mutual funds, insurance companies and retail, allowing the issuer to see around 1.3x demand. Banco de Chile’s pricing came in line with 50bp-60bp guidance. This was the first bond off a MXP10bn shelf. Banamex and JPMorgan led the transaction, rated AAA on a local scale. In July, BCI priced a MXP2bn 5-year floater at TIIE+40bp, while Molymet in April issued MXP1.5bn 1.5-year bonds at TIIE+55bp.

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Brazilian Beauty Startup Targets IPO

Intercosmetic Holding, a shell company founded last year to make investments in Brazil’s health and beauty sector, has started the registration process to become a public company, and plans to raise funds privately before en eventual public listing. It is targeting consolidation in the beauty salon industry through acquisitions and organic growth. “This type of chain doesn’t exist in Brazil,” says Alexandre Azambuja, VP and IR director, noting that Brazil has the fourth largest cosmetic market in the world. After filing this week to register with the CVM as a public company, Intercosmetic first plans to raise BRL55m through three private placement rounds. This fundraising would eventually be followed by an IPO, perhaps on the little-used Bovespa Mais, set up for small cap listings. The startup based in the southern state of Parana is in the process of choosing banks, he says.

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Cash-Hungry Santander Sells Colombia Unit

Chile’s CorpBanca has agreed to acquire nearly all of Santander’s Colombia unit, in a deal valued at $1.225 billion plus interest. The move marks a substantial sale for the Spanish bank which has been selling assets in LatAm in an effort to bolster the parent’s balance sheet. CorpBanca will acquire a 95% stake for $1.155bn, financed with its own cash and a $450m capital increase from its holding company, the Saieh Group’s CorpGroup Interhold. CorpGroup Interhold also plans to purchase at least an additional 2.85% stake from the remaining 5%. All in all, the CorpBanca and CorpGroup purchases will amount to $1.225bn plus accrued interest of 180-day dollar Libor +1% per year, a deal seen as pricey, but not out of line in a neighborhood where bank assets are expensive. “This is a good asset, and one of the assets Santander can sell at a higher multiple, a bit expensive to the average in Colombia,” says a New York-based FIG analyst, spotting the multiple at around 3.0x book value, compared to Bancolombia trading at 2.4x. A CorpBanca spokeswoman says the acquisition has an implied multiple of 2.7x. The numbers compare with the 3.0x-3.6x seen in Scotia’s $1bn acquisition of 51% of Colpatria in October, also seen as a steep price to enter Colombia. Still, with Colombia attracting lots of attention in the financial space recently – Peru’s BCP paid $76m for 51% of brokerage Correval last week – the New York analyst imagines several foreign and domestic bidders were interested, even at the high prices the country demands. Less clear is to what extent CorpBanca might be able to grow in Colombia. CorpBanca did not have an outside advisor on the deal, the spokeswoman says. Santander officials could not be reached. CorpBanca claims the deal makes it the first Chilean financial institution having a foreign bank subsidiary. At the same time, CorpGroup has struck an agreement to bring in Grupo Santo Domingo as an investor in CorpBanca for $100m. Santander Colombia has $4bn in total a

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Infonavit Talks Price on MXP RMBS

Mexico’s Infonavit is looking to pay 4.5% on 28-year UDI-denominated RMBS, scheduled to price Thursday. The state mortgage lender wants to issue up to MXP1.1bn ($82m) in bonds backed by Infonavit mortgages targeted at middle and high-income borrowers. Banamex is managing the sale, rated AAA on a local scale. Infonavit last issued in June, selling MXP3.85bn ($330m) in 2039 bonds with a 4.75% coupon, to yield Udibonos+216bp.

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JBS Outlook Revised to Stable

Moody’s has revised the outlook on JBS’ B1 rating to stable from positive. The move “reflects Moody’s expectation that JBS´s credit profile is not likely to improve sufficiently to warrant an upgrade in the near term,” it says. Though the meatpacker saw credit metric improvements in 3Q11, its performance does not match leverage and cash flow expectations for a positive outlook, the agency says. S&P revised JBS’s BB credit rating to stable from positive in November.

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Rabobank Set for Chile Bond

Dutch bank Rabobank has revived plans to issue bonds in Chile’s local markets, this time targeting an up to UF2m in 5-year bullet. The bank had been initially eyeing a sale last week, including the options of a UF-denominated tranche with a 3.05% coupon and a peso tranche with a 6.05% coupon. Proceeds will be used to fund the bank’s operations. The bond is rated AAA on a national scale. Celfin and Deutsche Bank are managing.

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Recope Preps CDB Loan

Costa Rica’s Recope and the China Development Bank (CDB) are working on a 15-year $800m-$900m syndicated loan with a 3-year grace period arranged by CDB to fund improvements at Soresco, a joint refinery venture between China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Recope, the Costa Rican government says. The Costa Rican national oil refinery has signed a mandate letter with the bank and preliminary financial conditions are being explored, says a person familiar with the agreement, who declined to comment on the interest rate. Soresco, created in 2008, will invest a total of $1.24bn to revamp and expand the Moin-based refinery which will process 60,000 barrels of oil per day. The remaining $300m to $400m will be covered by both partners in equal amounts. Recope plans to issue bonds in the local market in 2012 to finance its share of the deal. As structured, the Soresco joint venture will take care of construction and then lease the facility back to Recope for 15 years with an option to purchase. The lease fee to be paid to Recope will be calculated assuming a 16% IRR for the project.

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T&T Approved for IDB Loans

Trinidad and Tobago has been approved for $130m in loans from the IDB, with $80m of it earmarked for climate change assessment and framework development and $50m for enhancing financial sector stability. The $80m loan has a 20-year term and four-year grace period, with a variable interest rate based on Libor, while the $50m loan has a 20-year term and 5-year grace period, with a variable interest rate based on Libor.

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