Japan Credit Rating Agency has assigned an A rating with stable outlook to Japanese yen-denominated bonds from America Movil (AMX). The Mexican wireless operator was heard sounding out Japanese accounts for a potential Samurai bond transaction via Mitsubishi UFJ-Morgan Stanley and Mizuho in late September. Additional details were not available. A Samurai deal would follow AMX’s $2bn 5-year bond and $750m retap of its 2040s done in September. America Movil is currently also looking at the Euro market, and is scheduled to wrap up fixed income meetings in Frankfurt on Friday.
Category: Bonds
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Bank Holdco Prices UF Deal
LQ Inversiones Financieras, the holding vehicle for the Quinenco conglomerate’s 50% stake in Banco de Chile, has sold UF1.5m ($65m) in bonds. The 2033 note priced at 95.77 with a 3.5% coupon to yield 3.87%. The bonds are rated AA+ on a national scale, and come with a 10.75-year grace period. Banchile-Citi and Bice managed the sale.
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Brazilian Tops M&A Tables as Volume Stays Down
Itau leads the LatAm M&A league tables through the first 9 months of 2011, according to Dealogic, booking $21.29bn in deal volume from 32 transactions. The ranking represents a jump up for the Brazilian bank, whose volume at this time last year didn’t qualify it for the top 10. Overall market volume is half of what it was at this point last year, but bankers are optimistic that heavier activity could return, even if not until 2012. “We are in is a long process of the market maturing. The fundamental drivers of foreign interest, local consolidation and LatAm companies going global will all continue to be in place,” says the regional head of investment banking at a Sao Paulo-based bank. Itau’s volume is followed in the tables by Goldman Sachs ($19.8bn from 25 deals) and Citi ($15.87bn from 22). Credit Suisse, last year’s leader at this point, has slipped out of the top 10 in volume, but has still taken home $72m in fees to lead the region, with JPMorgan second ($47m) and Itau fifth ($28m). Latin America targeted M&A reached $103.0bn in the first 9 months of 2011, Dealogic says, down 48% from the $198.5bn booked in the comparable period in 2010. Despite the drop in volume, a record 1,097 deals have been announced. Brazil targeted M&A represented $62.6bn in the first 9 months, the second-highest volume on record behind the $125.3bn from the comparable 2010 period.
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HSBC, JPM Lead DCM Tables
HSBC leads the regional DCM tables through the first 9 months of 2011, according to Dealogic, with JPMorgan topping the list if only cross-border transactions are included. Bankers are unsure if there will be much more issuance to add to those totals before year-end, noting that if volatility doesn’t settle down within the next month, there will likely be no new cross-border deals until January. HSBC maintains the overall lead it held at this time last year, with $9.34bn from 67 deals, of which $4.2bn from 48 deals came from domestic markets. JPMorgan is second ($9.26bn from 34), followed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch ($8.93bn from 40). JPMorgan’s $8.79bn cross-border volume from 31 deals, leads that ranking, followed closely by BAML ($8.72 from 38) and Deutsche Bank ($5.99bn from 26). JPMorgan also led in fees, with $40m. Total regional DCM volume hit $89.3bn in the period, just shy of the record $91.0bn from the same period in 2010. ECM may have even bleaker prospects to add to its volumes, currently led by Itau’s $3.18bn from 24 transactions. “It is tough to believe issuers would want to expose themselves to these conditions,” says a banker at a rival shop. He sees few if any new deals before the end of the year, noting a reopening of LatAm ECM would require a European debt resolution, a reduction in volatility, a return of the US IPO market and a reverse in fund flows. Trailing Itau in the first 3 quarters of 2011 are BTG Pactual ($2.10bn from 13) and Citi ($2.00bn from 14). Itau’s $79m in fees are also tops. ECM Issuance in the period is down 44% to $26.1bn, from $46.7bn last year.
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Saesa Gets Local Bond
Chilean electricity transmission company Saesa has sold UF2m ($86m) in domestic bonds, completing a sale it has initially hoped to hold in September. A UF1m 8-year bond with a 2-year grace period priced at 97.92 with a 3.0% coupon to yield 3.45%. A UF1m 21-year bond with a 10-year grace period priced at 96.90 with a 3.60% coupon to yield 3.87%. Proceeds are marked for repaying debt. IMTrust managed the sale, rated AA on a national scale.
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Taesa Preps Short-term Debt
Cemig’s Transmissora do Atlantico de Energia Eletrica (Taesa) has received authorization to issue BRL1.4bn in short-term debt to help fund the purchase of a 50% stake in Abengoa Brasil made earlier this year, it says. The one-year bonds would pay the DI plus up to 106%. Cemig had told LatinFinance last month it was in talks with banks for a cross-border issue of about BRL1.2bn equivalent in BRL or USD to fund the acquisition. An IR official did not respond to a request to comment as to whether the international sale was still planned. Cemig is one of several LatAm issuers to be ready to issue internationally and waiting out market conditions. Bradesco, Citi, and Santander have been hired to lead the potential cross-border sale.
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UNE Postpones Local Bond
UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones, the telecom unit of Colombia’s Empresas Publicas de Medellin, is now eyeing the week of October 17 to place a COP300bn ($153m) domestic bond, according to a banker on the sale, after originally expecting to sell this week. In what would be the first local Colombian bond sale from a non-financial institution in several months, the issuer is able to chose among maturities of 1-15 years, paying a fixed rate or spreads over the IBR, DTF or IPC. Correval is managing the sale, rated AAA on a national scale.
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Banco de Chile Holdco Set for Bond
LQ Inversiones Financieras (LQIF), the holding vehicle for the Quinenco conglomerate’s 50% stake in Banco de Chile, is scheduled to sell today up to UF5m ($215m) in domestic bonds. The issuer is offering 2033 bonds paying a coupon of 3.5%. The LQIF notes are rated AA+ on a national scale, and come with a 10.75-year grace period. Banchile-Citi and Bice are managing the sale.
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Banco Falabella Raises Local Bond
Banco Falabella has sold UF2.5m ($108m) in 7 and 21-year bonds in the Chilean domestic market. A UF1m 2018 note priced at 99.73 with a 3.40% coupon to yield 3.45%, and a UF1.5m 2032 note priced at 99.33 with a 3.85% coupon to yield 3.90%. The banking arm of the Chilean retailer is raising funds to support its lending activity. IMTrust managed the sale, rated AA/AA minus on a national scale and done following marketing in Chile, Peru and Colombia. Quinenco’s LQ Inversiones Financieras is expected to issue up to UF5m in Chile’s bond market today, and Santiago’s Metro is looking to raise up to UF5.2m as soon as Friday.
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Concession Operator Prices MXP ABS
Concesionaria de Autopistas del Sureste has sold a MXP3.5bn ($276m) toll road securitization in Mexico’s domestic bond market. The Chiapas-based operator priced the 26.5-year UDI-denominated bonds at 6.0% or UDIBonos+335bp. “At the end of the day this was a transaction that supports [Mexican] infrastructure,” says one banker on the deal. Demand for the 2038 bonds saw an oversubscription of 1.24x. Banamex and Santander led the transaction, rated AA on a national scale. Sureste is owned by Spain’s Aldesa.