Mexico’s largest private power generator in 2025 delivered one of the most ambitious liability-management exercises ever executed by a Latin American corporate. Saavi Energía, which has permitted generation capacity of more than 3,700 megawatts, uses a landmark $1.1 billion bond issuance and concurrent tender offers to fundamentally reshape its capital structure in a single, highly coordinated transaction — earning the Corporate Liability Management Deal of the Year award.
At the core of the transaction is the creation of a new funding platform. Saavi Energía S.à r.l., a newly established holding company, issues $1.1 billion of ten-year senior unsecured notes due 2035 with an 8.875% coupon, marking the company’s inaugural entry into the international bond markets at the holdco level. The offering is the largest holding-company bond ever issued out of Latin America and the largest high-yield bond from the region’s power and utilities sector.
Proceeds are deployed with surgical precision. Part refinances existing bank debt, while a significant portion funds concurrent cash tender offers at two operating subsidiaries — Cometa Energía and Tierra Mojada — allowing Saavi to retire portions of legacy project-finance bonds and consolidate debt at the holding-company level.
“We carried out a highly complex and sophisticated transaction. We opted to go down this road, because it was the most optimal for us from a management perspective to accomplish our objectives in one fell swoop,” said Mauricio del Valle, Saavi Energia’s CEO.
Under the liability-management exercise, Cometa Energía launches a capped tender offer for up to $100 million of its 6.375% senior secured notes due 2035, while Tierra Mojada seeks to repurchase up to $115 million of its 5.750% senior secured notes due 2040. Early participation is strong, with roughly half of eligible Cometa bonds and more than one-third of Tierra Mojada notes tendered.
Timing heightens execution risk. The deal launches in early February 2025, immediately after a U.S. executive order threatening new tariffs on Mexican exports — a shock that effectively shuts the Mexican high-yield market. Saavi becomes the first Mexican corporate to test investor appetite in the aftermath.
Demand proves overwhelming. Following a five-day global marketing effort, the order book peaks at approximately 2.5 times the deal size. Ninety-four institutional investors participate, including several first-time buyers. Initial price thoughts in the low 9% area tighten, allowing the bonds to price at a 9.000% yield — the tight end of guidance.
“We came to the market at a moment of great volatility and we were able to attract a great deal of interest and get it done. I think that speaks to the work we have done over the years to establish Saavi as a known issue and our reputation as in the high-yield bond market in Latin America,” said Del Valle.
Strategically, the transaction marks a decisive shift away from a fragmented, project-level financing model toward a scalable corporate structure. By consolidating debt into a single holdco issuer, Saavi enhances transparency, broadens its investor base and increases balance-sheet flexibility.
The reorganization leaves Saavi with three actively traded bonds: the new holdco notes and the remaining issues at Cometa and Tierra Mojada. Cometa, which owns five combined-cycle plants with approximately 2,800 megawatts of installed capacity, earns a one-notch upgrade to BBB from Fitch Ratings in September 2025. Tierra Mojada, which operates 970 megawatts of capacity, carries a BBB- rating and returns to the market in November with a $935 million refinancing.
Operationally, Saavi controls a diversified portfolio of five combined-cycle plants, two gas compression facilities, two mobile turbines and a solar plant. While it is the largest private-sector generator in Mexico, its scale remains well below the state-owned utility CFE, which has roughly 55,000 megawatts of capacity. Mexico’s plan to add up to 30,000 megawatts by the end of the decade underscores the strategic value of Saavi’s streamlined balance sheet.
“Growth possibilities for us are tremendous,” Del Valle says. “The government has been issuing new regulations that are, overall, positive for the sector. We are looking, but we have always been patient and will pick the things we really want to do.”
By combining scale, structural innovation and disciplined execution under volatile conditions, Saavi Energía delivers a liability-management playbook that redefines what is possible for high-yield corporate issuers in Latin America.
Saavi Energía $1.1 billion Senior Notes Offering and Concurrent Tender Offer
Bookrunners: JP Morgan; Mizuho; Scotiabank; SMBC
Joint Bookrunners: BNP Paribas; Citi; Goldman Sachs
Counsel to Issuer: Galicia; Milbank; Bonn Steichen & Partners
Counsel to Lenders: Davis Polk; Perez Llorca; A&O Shearman
Auditor: PWC