Latin American supranational bank Bladex is poised to launch a $150m 3-year loan at the end of June. Mizuho is acting as lead and the proceeds are going to refinance an existing facility that pays around 200bp over Libor. The borrower is expected to achieve tighter pricing this time, shaving off at least 50bp from prior levels.
Category: Loans
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Itau Preps Bank Meetings
Brazilian banking giant Itau is plotting a new $500m 3-year loan, with bank meetings scheduled on Monday in Asia and on June 29 in New York. Proceeds are going toward refinancing an existing $400m facility taken out in 2008 through leads BNP Paribas and Unicredit. That loan paid around Libor plus 95bp, but the borrower is not expected to achieve such tight pricing on this occasion. BNP Paribas, HSBC and Mizuho are acting as underwriters and global coordinators, though some other banks may also join at this level.
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CFE Seeks Tighter Margins
Mexico’s CFE, the federal electricity commission, wants to re-finance a $2bn 3.5-year term loan after seeing the attractive spreads recently achieved by Mexican telecom America Movil and Brazilian mining company Vale, say market participants. Bankers have not received RFPs, but the company is sounding them on pricing levels. The loan that closed in December was priced at 130bp over Libor, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Bank of Tokyo, Citi, Intesa, RBS and Santander acting as bookrunners. The transaction pre-financed a $1.7bn revolver which matured in May. CFE is following in the footsteps of oil company Pemex, which is also looking to re-finance a $3.25bn dual-tranche loan that closed last December. Both state-owned credits are thought to have been inspired by attractive spreads seen on America Movil and Vale’s recent syndications. Vale priced its $3bn 5-year at 65bp over Libor. America Movil priced a $4bn dual-tranche deal, with a $2bn 3.5-year tranche coming at 50bp over Libor and a $2bn euro-equivalent loan at 60bp over Euribor.
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CAF Hits Japan Retail Buyers
CAF has raised JPY10bn ($123m) in the Samurai bond market. The Venezuela-based supranational lender priced the 2015 bond at par with a 1.0% coupon to yield Yen Libor+49bp, in line with 0.8%-1.1% guidance. Unlike most other Latin Samurais, the bond was sold primarily to retail investors, though was not the same type as the Eurobond retail Uridashi that CAF did last year. “This was the first retail samurai after the earthquake, and the first ever retail samurai by a Latin American issuer,” CAF’s international director Gabriel Felpeto tells LatinFinance. Daiwa managed the sale, rated A+. A planned benchmark USD bond could be next for the perennial multi-currency borrower. “We are looking at the market. The past few weeks have been difficult, but we are not in a rush,” Felpeto says. Domestic market issuance in the region is also a possibility. After raising $40m in Panama in May, CAF is also considering a Chilean market issue, among others, this year.
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St. Kitts and Nevis Get Emergency Funding
IMF staff and St. Kitts and Nevis authorities have reached a broad agreement on key elements for an emergency funding arrangement of $84m over 36 months. The IMF executive board will assess the emergency funding arrangement at the end of July following IMF management review. Declines in tourism and significant increases in public debt levels were listed as triggers to economic decline in both regions. To obtain the funding, St. Kitts and Nevis are required to follow the IMF’s economic plan, involving a public debt reduction and a restructuring plan to achieve a sustainable debt service profile. St. Kitts and Nevis became members of the IMF in August 2004.
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CAF Upsizes Syndicated Loan
CAF, the Andean multilateral, has upsized a 3-year syndicated loan it was seeking from Asian lenders after the deal was oversubscribed, according to a banker on the transaction. The multilateral has upsized the deal to $163m, from the $150m it had planned to borrow, to accommodate demand. The deal was priced at Libor+ 95bp. The mandated lead arranger, SMBC, took a $100m ticket and 5 others participated in the transaction, with ticket sizes ranging from $3m to over $10m. Bank of Taiwan, Megan International Commercial Bank, LAN Bank Taiwan were the banks that participated from Taiwan. The Development Bank of Japan also participated in the deal, which was the first time it has acted as a lender to a LatAm multilateral, says a banker on the deal. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
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Eldorado Gets BNDES Loan
Paper and pulp producer Eldorado, has been a BRL2.7bn ($1.7bn) loan from Brazilian development bank BNDES. A spokesperson for the bank declines to say what rate the loan pays. Proceeds will be used to finance the construction of a pulp and paper plant in Tres Lagos, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The plant will be completed by the end of 2012 and is expected to be the biggest in the world upon completion. The loan is expected to cover around half of the cost of the first phase of the project, which is expected to cost around BRL5.1bn. The remainder is expected to be financed by credit lines.
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Mexico Airport Group Gets Loan
Mexico’s Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP) has received a credit line for MXP551.37m ($46.89m) from Banamex. The funds will be used to finance capital investments in 2011 and 2012 for its airports in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Hermosillo and Guanajuato. The 7-year loan will pay a spread of 135bp over TIIE for funds disbursed in 2011 and 143bp over TIIE for funds disbursed in 2012. The structuring commission is 75bp on the total amount of the loan and the commitment fees are 25bp in 2011 and 2012. This follows the announcement that they received a line of credit from HSBC for MXP1.02bn for the same purposes last week.
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OHL Brazil Gets BNDES Loan
OHL Brazil has secured three loans through Brazil’s development bank, BNDES, for a total of BRL702.8m ($445m). The first is a 12-year, BRL493.4m loan, with a grace period of 1-year and pays a spread of TJLP+ 2.21% per year. The second credit is also for 12 years, with a 2.5-year grace period. It has a BRL159.3m size and also pays a spread of TJLP+ 2.21% per year. The last BRL50.1m tranche is for 10.25 years, has a 4.5-year grace period and pays a spread of TJLP+ 2.21% per year. The loans will be used for maintenance of roads, including lighting, protection devices and recovery services, adds the release.
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Samarco Reduces Size of Club Deal
Samarco has cut the size of its 7-year club loan to $335m from the $400m after the Brazilian iron ore miner expressed an unwillingness to budge on pricing, say bankers. Banks were not heard dropping out of the transaction, but were thought to be unwilling to increase ticket sizes at the final margin of 150bp over Libor. “At that spread and tenor the banks that came in to the deal were not willing to commit $100m each, so the ticket sizes were reduced,” says one syndicated loans banker involved in the transaction. In the end, HSBC and WestLB joined Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Mizuho and SMBC, each participating with $67m tickets. The transaction is in documentation and is expected to close at the end of this month. Samarco, which is jointly owned by Vale and BHP Billiton, had originally asked for proposals on 7 and 10-year tenors, but the latter option was seen as far too ambitious, at least for international lenders. The world’s second-largest exporter of iron ore pellets closed a $400m 5-year club deal in December. BNP, HSBC, ING, RBS and SMBC committed $80m each, at a spread of 160bp over Libor. That loan was for general corporate purposes, and for funding a $3bn expansion plan for 2011.