Invex Controladora has acquired a 49% stake in Bulltick Investments. According to a statement on the Mexican bolsa, the target is an affiliate and part of Bulltick Capital Markets. Bulltick is headquartered in Miami and focuses on LatAm. Invex does not disclose the size of the deal. According to Mexican securities law, Invex does not have to disclose the size of a deal if it is less than 5% of its reported assets, about $110m in this case. Bulltick does not return calls for comment.
Yearly Archives: 2011
Posted inDaily Brief
EPM, Emgesa Prep Bond Roadshows
Colombian electric companies Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM) and Emgesa are each planning to meet debt investors beginning Monday. Baa3/BBB minus EPM plans to kick off in London on Monday, then visit New York and Boston before finishing in LA Thursday. It has not indicated any details of a transaction. If the municipally-owned utility were to do a dollar transaction, it would be its first since a $500m 10-year in 2009. BAML and Barclays have been hired to manage the roadshow. Separately, Emgesa, the generation company controlled by EEB, will start in London on Monday and visit Boston before finishing in New York and LA Wednesday. It is planning to sell $400m in 2021 bonds, according to a Fitch report assigning a BBB minus to the issuance. Citi and Deutsche are managing the sale.
Posted inDaily Brief
Safra Tees Up Tier 2 Bond
Brazil’s Banco Safra is planning a 10-year Tier 2 dollar bond. It is yet another Brazilian bank securing funds while rates and market volatility are low. The bank plans to meet investors in Switzerland Monday, London and LA Tuesday, and Boston and New York Wednesday, with a transaction to follow. BAML, JPMorgan and UBS are managing the process. Peer Banco Daycoval will also meet investors next week, following a $400m 2016 this week from Cruzeiro do Sul. Cruzeiro’s Ba2/BB minus 2016 bond priced at 99.498 with an 8.250% coupon to yield 8.375%, the tight end of 8.500% area guidance. The bond traded up slightly Wednesday afternoon, according to investors. “We are seeing tremendous demand for financial institutions from the region,” says a LatAm DCM banker away from the Safra deal. Concerns that US interest rates will rise later in the year are motivating banks to seek finds now, he says.
Posted inDaily Brief
Galicia Card Unit Hits Road
Tarjeta Naranja, the Argentine credit card company owned by Banco Galicia, is set meet bond investors on 3 continents. It will begin Monday in Singapore, and visit Hong Kong, Switzerland, London, Miami and Boston, before finishing in New York January 25. No details regarding a transaction have been indicated. Tarjeta is rated B/B minus. BAML and Deutsche Bank are managing the bond sale. Tarjeta Naranja has issued several times in Argentina’s domestic market. Its most recent foray was for $50m in dollar-denominated 2010 and 2011 bonds. It is one of several Argentine issuers expected this year, a list which also includes real estate firm Raghsa, cable company Cablevision, and several provinces.
Posted inDaily Brief
CAF Retaps CHF Bond
CAF has reopened its 2.625% of 2015 Swiss Franc-denominated bond to raise CHF130m. The A+ Andean multilateral reopened at 99.791 to yield 2.774%, or mid-swaps plus 140bp. The price comes inside both the spread of the original issue (146bp) and the secondary (143bp), Gabriel Felpeto, CAF’s director of financial policies and international issues, tells LatinFinance. “According to our indications this priced inside of our dollar curve,” he says. Felpeto declines to specify how many basis points within the curve it priced. The tap was done to take advantage of demand left over from the original October sale. The outstanding is now CHF380m. Credit Suisse managed the sale.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexican Corporates Hit Local Pipeline
Mexican food producers Grupo Herdez and Sigma Alimentos, as well as Mexican retailer Grupo Famsa, are expected to come to the MXP bond market in February, according to regulatory filings. Grupo Herdez is expected on 4 February, with floating rate bonds, with Banamex acting as bookrunner on the deal. Sigma Alimentos is expected on 18 February with a dual tranche fixed and floating rate transaction, for which Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the lead. Grupo Famsa is expected to issue up to MXP1bn, with IXE acting as sole bookrunner. The bonds will pay a spread over TIIE. The sizes, tenors and ratings of the 3 deals have yet to be determined.
Posted inDaily Brief
Neuquen Plans Oil-Backed Bond
Argentina’s Neuquen province plans to sell up to $260m in bonds backed by oil royalties, according to an official at the province’s finance ministry. The B rated province is considering a maturity of 8-10 years, and will begin marketing the bonds in late February, with an eye on a March sale. Barclays and Citi have been hired to manage the sale, alongside locals Banco Macro and Puente Hermanos. The issuer circulated an RFP last year and is expected to use a structure similar to the ABS issued last year by the Chubut province. Chubut raised $150m in a 7.75% of 2020 in July 2010 through securitization of oil and gas royalties. Neuquen’s last bond was a $125m 7-year oil royalty ABS in 2007 with an 8.656% coupon, according to Dealogic.
Posted inDaily Brief
Banco do Brasil Grows Euro Debut
Banco do Brasil (BdB) has raised EUR750m in its debut euro transaction. The issuer upsized from an expected EUR500m, after getting EUR1.4bn in demand, according to bankers on the deal. The Baa2 rated 2016 priced at 99.453 with a 4.500% coupon to yield 4.625%, or mid-swaps plus 200bp, in line with 200bp area guidance. Initial whispers had been low 200s. The price compares fairly to the mid-swaps plus 160bp-165bp at which the BNDES 2017 euro-denominated bond had been trading, according to an investor. The issuer is not expected to swap proceeds, since it can use proceeds for euro trade finance, the investor says. A banker on the deal estimates that a new dollar bond from BdB might come at dollar mid-swaps plus 200bp, based on its dollar 2015 bond trading at dollar mid-swaps plus 175bp. This, in turn, indicates the state-controlled bank paid a slight premium when it priced at euro mid-swaps plus 200bp, he says. Recent euro issuance from LatAm has been competitive versus dollars, he adds. However, BdB is more interested in diversifying funding sources than arbitraging a different currency, the banker explains. US accounts took 32% of the book, with 18% going to Swiss, 11% French, 8% German and 31% other European buyers, according to a banker on the deal. Fund managers account for 58% of the book. BdB, Votorantim, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas managed the process. A banker on the trade says other candidates to issue euro-denominated bonds could include issuers from last year looking to build curves, as well as banks and commodity exporters. In addition to BNDES, last year’s tally included Votorantim, Vale, Telemar, CAF and America Movil.
Posted inDaily Brief
CMPC Book Heard Slow to Build
Investors note resistance to a $500m 2018 from Chile’s CMPC, which priced Thursday flat to guidance on tepid demand. “The market has been picky in terms of yield, especially with investment grade issuers, due to concerns about US treasury selloffs if interest rates rise,” Diego Torres, corporate debt analyst at Santiago-based Munita, Cruzat y Claro, tells LatinFinance. The buyside says the book was slow to build at the initial whispers. It eventually grew to $1.1bn, according to a banker on the deal. CMPC, a forestry and paper company, whispered UST plus low 200bp Thursday morning, before announcing 220bp area guidance. The Baa2/BBB+ 2018 priced a 4.75% coupon at 99.524 to yield 4.831%, or UST plus 220bp. “With the 2019 trading just inside 200bp, I don’t see much of a pickup on the new bond,” says a London-based EM investor. The bond rose 0.25 points Thursday, according to a trader. The deal follows an issue from fellow Chilean investment-grade Cencosud that was well-bid (a $2.6bn book, the bankers say) despite being tightly-priced at UST+ 230bp to yield 5.661%. Cencosud, which raised a $750m 10-year Wednesday, finished up flat to 0.25 points. Torres says the CMPC bonds could tighten another 10bp, based on CMPC’s 2019 trading to yield around UST+190bp. Citi, Itau, JPMorgan managed the CMPC sale, anticipated ever since the firm met investors last year. It is the issuer’s first bond since a $500m 2019 sale in 2009. With at least 6 credits meeting investors next week, it is shaping up to be a busy January, at least for corporate issuers. “Investors are clamoring for new names,” says a DCM banker. He adds that the number of deals is not stoking fears of saturation, as most are likely to be for $500m or less. “Investors are being choosy with yield, but if they look at their cash positions, they will see they need paper,” says another DCM banker.
Posted inDaily Brief
BR Malls Tightens Perp Price
BR Malls has raised $230m in the region’s first perpetual bond of the year. The BB/BB minus Brazilian mall operator priced at par with an 8.500% coupon to yield 8.500%, tight to 8.625% area guidance, revised from earlier guidance of 8.750% area. The deal drew more than $800m in orders, according to bankers on it. The NC5 bond was seen up about 0.50 points Thursday afternoon. With the issuer’s outstanding perp up for call in 2012, more relevant comps were Cosan’s (BB/BB) perp, trading at about 8.0%, and the smaller BR Properties (B+/Ba3), trading around 9.0%, according to investors. The $230m amount represents the issuer’s pre-determined limit, according to bankers on the deal. BTG and Deutsche Bank managed the transaction. Compatriot Energisa plans to follow with a NC5 perpetual, and is meeting investors through January 19. Developer Cyrela met investors in November, but elected to wait on a possible perp and is heard to still be considering a deal. BR Malls’ last dollar bond was a $175m perp with a 9.750% coupon in November 2007 through Citi and UBS. The last LatAm perpetual was BB minus/Ba3 General Shopping, $200m at 9.75% in November.