A March 22 brief entitled “Mexico’s State of Nayarit Gets Loan” incorrectly states that the pricing of the loan given to the state of Nayarit was priced over the Libor rate. The loan was priced over the TIIE rate.
Category: Loans
Posted inDaily Brief
America Movil Launches Syndication
America Movil´s $4bn dual tranche loan is being well received following bank meetings in New York on Thursday and in Mexico last Friday. The spread on the $2bn 3.5-year loan is 50bp over Libor, with a 15bp commitment fee, while the spread on the $2bn EUR equivalent 5 year-loan is 60bp over Euribor, with a 20bp commitment fee, according to bankers with knowledge of the transaction. The bookrunners on the first tranche are Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, BBVA, Citi, Intesa and Mizuho. Bookrunners on the second tranche are Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Citi, Intesa, JPMorgan and Societe Generale. The banks have committed $400m each. HSBC is acting as lead arranger, but not as bookrunner. There is also a utilization fee of 15bp if America Movil draws down over 50% of the loan. Although participating bankers say the fees are tight, they are still willing to participate due to a lack of loans transactions in the market. “The only banks that may have a problem with participating are those not registered in Mexico,” says one New York-based syndicated loans banker. “It has high revenues and a major presence in LatAm, as well as having a lot of cash on the balance sheet so we do not really expect the facility to be drawn down,” says another syndicated loans banker, also in New York.
Posted inDaily Brief
Compartamos Studies Ex-Mexico Expansion
Fresh off an equity reorganization designed to facilitate international expansion, Mexico’s Banco Compartamos is looking at various options outside Mexico. The microlender, which last year transferred its Mexico listing to its financial holdco, is considering both Central and South America, CFO Patricio Diez de Bonilla tells LatinFinance. “Growing organically in Central America would be very simple,” he says, though not necessarily a fast process. The business model that serves it well in southern Mexico would be easily applicable to a market such as Guatemala, for example, since both are predominantly rural and less affluent than other markets. An acquisition would be more likely in Brazil, Colombia or Peru, where microfinance conditions are different. Peru is very mature and quite competitive, Diez de Bonilla says, while Brazil is “just starting.” As for financing, he explains Compartamos plans to be a regular domestic debt issuer, and plans to match last years MXP1bn sale with another in the third quarter this year, he says.
Posted inDaily Brief
Port of Santos Gets A/B Loan
The Port of Santos, designed to be Brazil’s main port and the largest in LatAm, has obtained an A/B loan worth $679m. The A loan, provided by the IFC, is worth $97m and the B tranche is a syndicated loan for $582m. BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, DnB Nor Bank, ING Capital, KFW Ipex Bank and Banco Santander are participating in the syndication. Each will provide $97m, says John Groesbeek, the IFC’s head of syndications for LatAm and the Caribbean. “Both the A and B loans have a term of 10 years and a grace period of 2.0-2.5 years,” he says, declining to discuss pricing. The total project cost is $908m, according to the IFC. The remainder of the funds needed to develop the project, $229m, will from sponsors’ equity, explains Groesbeek. The sponsors are UK-based Terminal Investment Limited and The Netherlands’ APM Terminals, both global container terminal operators. Proceeds will be used to develop the greenfield terminal, says Gabriel Goldschmidt, IFC manager for infrastructure in LatAm and the Caribbean. The port should be operational in about 1.5-2.0 years, he says.
Posted inDaily Brief
America Movil Assigns Banks
America Movil has assigned banks for its $4bn syndicated loan, according to market participants. The deal will be split in to a 3.5-year $2bn tranche, and a 5-year $2bn equivalent EUR tranche. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, BBVA, Citi, Intesa, and Mizuho are participating in the USD tranche. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Citi, Intesa, JP Morgan, and Societe Generale are participating in the EUR tranche. General syndication will begin on Friday. The deal is expected to close by mid-April.
Posted inDaily Brief
CAF Provides Panama Construction Loan
CAF has approved a $400m construction loan to the Republic of Panama to build the 1 line for its Metro system. The total cost of the project will come to $1.8bn, with the CAF loan representing 22% of the total investment. CAF has approved $1.3bn in operations for Panama in the last 5 years.
Posted inDaily Brief
Gerdau Pricing Heard
Gerdau, the largest producer of long steel in the Americas, is offering a spread of 180bp over Libor for its $1bn 3-year club deal, according to market participants. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Citi, HSBC, and Santander are heard to be the banks involved in the transaction. The deal is composed of 2 tranches of $500m each. The loan is for working capital purposes, and will replace other short-term bilateral loans. The first tranche be used by its US and Canada subsidiaries, with the second tranche to be used by its other subsidiaries, mainly in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Spain. Execution and closing of the deal is expected by the end of March, according to a banker with knowledge of the transaction.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexican Power Plant Closes Loan
Mexico’s Norte II, a combined-cycle power plant, has raised $325m in a club deal that closed Friday involving SMBC, Credit Agricole and Kexim. The financing was originally expected to be for $350m, but the project costs lower than original projections, says one of the bankers involved in the transaction. Mexico’s CFE awarded the contract for the construction and operation of the Norte II combined-cycle power plant in August to a consortium formed by South Korean companies Korea Electric Power Corporation and Samsung Corporation, with Mexico’s Techint.
Posted inDaily Brief
Salud Negotiating Financing Package
Peruvian healthcare holding company Grupo Salud is negotiating a financing package with the IFC and German development institution DEG. The package would fund a 140-bed hospital in Lima to be known as Clinica Delgado. The project is estimated to cost a total $70m. Out of that amount, the IFC will provide about $25m and DEG $15m. Grupo Salud CEO Aristides de Macedo declines to disclose terms or where the remaining $30m would come from. Delgado will be the first hospital in the country to partner with an international operator, US-based American Hospital Management.
Posted inDaily Brief
IDB to Provide $500m for Natural Disasters
The IDB is working with 13 countries in LatAm and the Caribbean to improve disaster risk management and is expected to provide over $500m in financing in 2011 to help meet natural disaster needs. The IDB has already approved a $100m loan for the Dominican Republic under its contingent credit facility. It will consider further contingent loans for Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras, totaling $500 million. The IDB is also expected to provide a $24 million loan to structure and launch an Insurance Facility for catastrophic natural disaster emergencies for the Dominican Republic. The insurance facility will provide the government with 5-year $100 million coverage for earthquakes and hurricanes of catastrophic magnitude.