Category: Chile

Chilean hydro electrical company SN Power is looking at various options to finance a $140m wind power generation facility in Coquimbo, northern Chile that will be built through its subsidiary Norvind. The Complejo Eolico Totoral facility will include 23 windmills and is expected to produce 46MW. Construction will start in the second half of this year and is set to end by late 2009. SN Power is owned by Norwegian hydro electrical company Statkraft SF and EM investment fund Norfund, both owned by the Norwegian government.

Chilean gas company Quintero Bay LNG has raised a $1.11bn, 15-year syndicated project finance loan to build a new gas processing facility in Chile’s Bahia de Quintero. The loan was led by Banesto, BBVA, Calyon, Fortis, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho, Santander, West LB and the GB group. The facility is expected to be operational in June 2009. The company is owned by ENAP, Endesa Chile, Metrogas and BG Group.

Chilean real estate developer Salfacorp has issued CLP20.16bn ($41.1m) in 2013 bonds, according to a filing. The notes, denominated in the UF inflation-linked unit, priced at 99.03 with a 3.25% coupon to yield 4.02%. Fitch gave the bonds a BBB+ local rating. Proceeds will be used to refinance debt. IM Trust managed the sale.

Chilean power generator AES Gener has raised CLP134bn in a share offer that ended June 17. Proceeds will be used to finance expansion projects, including 7 power generation plants with a combined capacity of 1,500MW. The offer was originally set to launch in December 2007, but it was postponed due to market conditions. It was finally approved by shareholders in March and launched May 19.

Chilean timber and cellulose producer Arauco is investing $70m in a new burner for its Bio Bio electrical plant, a company spokeswoman says. The burner will be financed with cash in hand, the spokeswoman says, and its part of the investment plan that Arauco has for this year, together with a $50m new duct for the Nueva Aldea pulp mill. Arauco has no plan to issue bonds in the short term, the spokeswoman adds.

Colbun, the Chilean electricity generator, is under gentle pressure from lenders to refinance a $320m 5-year term loan raised in 2006 after the borrower ran into trouble and tripped covenants. The deal paid Libor plus 40bp out of the box and bankers in the lending group say discussions will be held in coming weeks to refinance at significantly higher margins, as well as add other features to better insure against default. “It’s not the company’s fault, no one could foresee the problems they ended up having,” says a banker in the group. Colbun experienced several very tough months and reported a loss of $93m in 2007. But the outlook has recently improved slightly with the onset of rain, which has replenished some hydroelectric dams. A long drought and a shortage of natural gas from Argentina last year led Colbun to seek fuel for generation in the diesel market, where prices have skyrocketed. With higher expenses and an inability to adjust sales contracts, Colbun’s leverage ratios soared, causing it to trip bank debt covenants. The company sought waivers twice with its lenders, which were conceded, though the margin on the $320m facility rose to over 75bp, says a banker. The deal is on a leverage grid, paying 35bp for less than 2x and 85bp at or above 4x. MLAs on the deal include ABN AMRO, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Santander, BayerischeLB, Calyon, Citi, ING, JPMorgan and WestLB, according to Dealogic. Seven more came in as participants.

Chile’s BancoEstado has sold CLP40.1bn ($83.5m) in 2033 bonds denominated in the UF inflation-indexed unit. The bonds priced at 98.41 to yield 4.14%.The state-controlled bank plans to finance long-term assets with proceeds from the AA+ rated issue.

Power generator AES Chile is in talks with financial institutions to arrange financing for a 500MW coal-fired power generation plant, according to bankers. The transaction could reach the $1bn size area, estimates one banker, and carry tenors of 10-15 years. Lead managers have yet to be chosen.

Spanish energy company Iberdrola has sold 51% of Chilean water processing unit Empresa de Servicio Sanitario Los Lagos (Essal) for EUR103m. The buyer was Chilean operator Aguas Andinas, a unit of Spain’s Aguas de Barcelona. The transaction is expected to close in July, after an IPO for the rest of Essal, Iberdrola says. The deal is part of Iberdrola’s strategic plan to sell non-core business units. Essal operates in Chile’s 10th and 14th region and has 173,000 clients, Iberdrola says.

Chile’s Cap has issued in the local market $173m in bonds denominated in dollars and the UF inflation-indexed unit. A UF2m (CLP40.06bn, $85.7m) 2013 tranche priced at 97.11 with a 3.1% coupon to yield 3.75%. A $87.5m 2018 dollar tranche priced at par to yield Libor plus 225bp. Proceeds from the bonds will be used to finance the company’s investment plans. Celfin Capital managed the sale.