CMPC is heard preparing a $400m term loan and $200m revolver, according to market participants. Additional details on the facilities were expected to emerge at a bank meeting scheduled for today. The Chilean pulp and paper company deal has mandated Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, JPMorgan and Scotia as leads. CMPC last tapped the loan market in 2008, for a $250m 5-year at Libor+55bp, via BBVA, BNP Paribas, BOTM, Santander and Export Development Canada. It has since borrowed from the bond market twice, for $500m each in 2009 and 2011.
Category: Chile
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Sonda to Take 90% of Quintec
Chilean IT firm Sonda has acquired 89.43% of rival Quintec, following the completion of a public takeover offer launched last month. The 140.6m share stake is worth CLP28.96bn ($60.9m), at the pre-determined CLP206. Quintec shares, which are very illiquid, closed Tuesday at CLP205.99. Sonda had a previous takeover bid for Quintec rejected in 2009. It has been expanding through acquisitions, buying Mexico’s IT provider NextiraOne for $29m in June 2010 and Brazil’s Telsinc in April 2010 for $38m, as part of its $500m investment plan.
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Bice Plans Local Dollar Bond
Chile’s Banco BICE is preparing to raise $120m in the domestic market through what will be the bank’s first-ever dollar-denominated bond. The 2016s will carry a 3.50% coupon, and are rated AA on a national scale. The borrower would like to issue as soon as possible, but timing remains uncertain given the volatility in the broader market, a banker on the self-led deal says. This comes after several issuers have postponed transactions in the local market. Market appetite will be put to the test on Thursday when electricity holdco Saesa as well as fuel and forestry conglomerate Copec are expected to tap. Saesa delayed its UF2m ($94m) sale earlier this month, while Copec is looking to sell up to UF1.5m in 2021s.
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Chilean OTTP Holdco Readies Domestic Bonds
Inversiones Southwater, an Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan-controlled holdco for 4 Chilean water assets, is planning to raise up to UF5.6m ($263m) in local bonds. Southwater has filed to establish debt programs to issue bonds with tenors of up to 10 and 30 years. It is looking to fund the July increase of its controlling positions in Essbio and Esval, according to Feller Ratings, which rates the bonds A+. Banco de Chile is managing the issuance. Southwater last came to market in 2009, raising UF2.2m.
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S&P Negative on Colbun
S&P has lowered the outlook on Chilean power generator Colbun’s BBB minus rating. The agency cites “weakening financial performance due to the impact of severe, prolonged drought,” as well as delays to a coal plant’s operations as among the factors affecting the company.
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Vapores Investors Consolidate Holdings
Chileans Grupo Luksic and Maritima de Inversiones (Marinsa) have agreed to consolidate their position in shipper Compania Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV). The 15-year agreement includes all the shares of Liksic units Quinenco, Inmobiliaria Norte Verde and Inversiones Rio Bravo, and those of Marinsa, together representing 41% of the company. The holders will act as a block in shareholder and board meetings. CSAV has faced funding complications since price deterioration and escalating costs led to a $525m loss in the first half of the year. Last week, it said it would ask shareholders for a new $350m credit line and $1.2bn in new equity, after just completing a $500m equity raise in July. CSAV also plans to seek a strategic partner for its container shipping business and will spin off its freight shipping business from the vessels and cargo maritime services managed by the Sudamericana Agencias Aereas y Maritimas unit.
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Copec Adds in Colombia
Chilean fuel distributor Compania de Petroleos de Chile (Copec) has agreed to acquire 7.85% in Colombian firm Sociedad de Inversiones en Energia (SIE), from Colombian financial company Corficolombiana for about COP183bn ($102m). Copec will pay COP12,700 per share for 14.48m shares The move follows Copec’s purchase of Colombian fuel distributor Terpel in 2010. Last year Copec bought 56.15% in Proenergia Internacional, which controls fuel distributor Terpel through SIE.
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Skanska Sells 50% of Chilean Project
Chilean Inversiones Infraestructura Dos has acquired 50% of highway project Antofagasta from Sweden-based Skanska for about SEK275m ($42.8m). Skanska was awarded the private-public-partnership (PPP) highway contract, with an expected construction contract value of SEK1.8bn ($250m) in May 2010. It includes 200 kilometers of roadway. Skanska generally holds 50% of concessions, says Amando Madan, finance director for Skanska ID Americas. Inversiones Infraestructura Dos was seen offering the right combination of price and corporate culture to work together in the future, he adds. Skanska earned some SEK50m as a result of the disposal, it says. Skanska was advised at different times by law firms Cariola Diez Perez-Cotapos & Cia and Guerrero Olivos, Novoa y Errazuriz, says Madan. Inversiones Infraestructura Dos is part of Chilean fund group PENTA. Skanska carried out a similar transaction in late 2010 when it sold 50% in PPP highway Autopista Central in Chile. On that occasion, the buyer was Alberta Investment Management Corporation, one of Canada’s largest institutional management firms.
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BBVA Ups Stake in Chilean Auto Lender
BBVA has bought a 24.5% stake in Chilean vehicle lender Forum Servicios Financieros from conglomerate Inversiones Juan Yarur. The purchase brings its position in Forum to 75.5%, and boosts the bank’s local operations. Yarur exits Forum completely in the deal. BBVA says Forum has about half of the Chilean market for vehicle financing, with $860m-equivalent lent in 2010.
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Chile Considers 2012 Return
In an effort to keep its commitment of maintaining a regular presence in the international capital markets, Chile isn’t ruling out the possibility of more foreign bond forays in 2012 and 2013, said the country’s Finance Minister Felipe Larrain at a roundtable discussion with journalists Thursday following a $1.35bn equivalent USD and CLP issue the day before. “A 10-year is the bread and butter [and the most liquid] in this market but a 5-year and 30-year will not be ruled out,” he said. Last year, the sovereign landed a 3.89% coupon, which at the time was its lowest ever, but it beat that record on Wednesday with a 3.35% coupon on a new $1bn 10-year. Coming with an even lower coupon may be an attractive option, but Larrain hoped that the sovereign would fail in its attempts to squeeze pricing tighter as this “would mean that the world economy was in dire straits,” he added. Still, the sovereign has established an attractive pricing benchmark for its corporates to follow. “The Republic has set the benchmark and [Chilean] companies can now set terms over that benchmark,” he added. Wednesday’s issue was twice over subscribed and was led by HSBC and Deutsche Bank. Ratings were AAa3/A+/A+ (stable/positive/stable) (Moody’s/S&P/Fitch.