Category: Loans

Peru-based Pluspetrol Lote 56, a unit of Argentina’s Pluspetrol, has sold $124.5m in bonds in 2 tranches. A $27.5m 5-year tranche pays 300bp over 3-month Libor. Total demand was $32.8m. A $97.0m 10-year meanwhile pays 350bp over 3-month Libor. Total demand for that slice was $124.1m. Proceeds will be used to finance investments and working capital, the company says. Credibolsa handled the AAA rated issue.

Brazil’s Banco Fibra is out with a $90m A/B loan through the IFC, Itau and Santander. A $15m IFC 4-year is shopped at 275bp over Libor, while a $75m 2-year B tranche pays 210bp. It is expected to close shortly and be oversubscribed, according to a banker on the deal.

Petrobras is understood to be looking to close more large bilateral loans after recently closing a $1bn 7-year at Libor+179bp through Standard Chartered. Citi and other banks are believed to be working on similar facilities. Though the margin looks thin, the deal also carries fees and a banker familiar with the terms says it offers a decent pickup to the bond. Some loan market specialists say that Petrobras is incurring risk by leaning on relationships, and should look to diversify. “They are always doing bilats but they will definitely need to open up to other source of funding or pay up,” says a banker. “Banks are getting very full of the exposure,” the loans expert adds. Other Brazilian borrowers are heard pursuing a similar strategy. Votorantim is rumored to have secured 7-year money on a bilateral basis at 210bp and 8-year money at 225bp, also in $1bn clips from several banks. Facilities for Fibria were understood to have been wrapped in.

Santander Chile is having selective one-on-one meetings this week to get participation on a $125m 18-month loan priced at Libor+80bp for Aa3 risk. Bankers say it compares favorably to Corpbanca’s 95bp for a BBB+ 2-year, but European demand is expected to be very limited. “It doesn’t make sense to lend at Libor plus 80bp to a competitor when you are paying more than that to borrow,” says a banker not on the deal. Standard Chartered is the lead.

Groupo Votorantim has raised $1.04bn billion in a pre-export loan through its Votorantim GMBH unit. A $620m 8-year tranche pays Libor plus 2.25%, and a $420m 7-year piece pays Libor plus 2.10%. Proceeds will be mainly used to repay loans maturing in the next 3 years, the Brazilian conglomerate says. A debt management strategy in place since 2009 focused on lengthening the maturity profile. Banco do Brasil, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BBVA, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Itau, JPMorgan, Santander and Societe General are listed as joint lead arrangers.

Peru and multilateral bank CAF have signed a $300m loan for rebuilding after natural disasters including earthquakes and floods. The loan has an 18-year term, a 4-year grace period and Libor-based interest rate. Separately, the IDB has approved a $50m loan for Peru to finance reforms to improve business productivity and competitiveness. The loan has a 1-year maturity, a grace period of 5 years and pays interest based on Libor.

Central American airline TACA has closed a $100m 5-year structured loan syndication through Citi paying at 600bp over Libor, tight to 625bp initial pricing. The amortizing deal has 1 year of grade and an average life around 3.2 years. Some 16 banks were heard signing on, most of them from Central America. The deal was pulled last year and was adjusted in price to reflect tighter prevailing market conditions. The facility will be repaid primarily by airline ticket sales using a trust structure based in Panama to isolate the payment streams. The transaction was heard well oversubscribed. Chadbourne & Parke was counsel to Citi, which acted as admin agent and lender.

Grupo R has closed its $225m 5-year platform syndication through BBVA with 9 banks on board. Joint bookrunners and MLAs are BESI, Natixis, NIBC, Societe Generale, Unicredit and WestLB. MLAs are Credit Industiel et Commercial and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, while ITF came in as a senior lead arranger. It pays Libor plus 375bp in the first 2 years, 400bp in years 3-4, and 425bp in the fifth year, with up-front fees of 300bp. BBVA was financial advisor and admin agent on the deal, which it says was oversubscribed. The transaction supports the acquisition of PetroRig III, an ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig that will operate under a lease with Mexico’s Pemex. PetroRig III is a sixth generation ultra deepwater semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit of Friede & Goldman ExD Design. It is designed to operate at a water depth of 7,500 feet and drill up to 40,000 feet, and was built by the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore.

BBVA and Santander are leading a $150m 7-year project deal for the Oaxaca I wind farm in Mexico. A banker not on the transaction but familiar with the sector estimates a price of 350bp-400bp over Libor. Bankers on the deal decline to talk about the margin. Banobras and Spain’s Instituto de Credito Oficial are expected to join, but the mini perm deal will likely not be opened up to other institutions, says a banker on the deal. “We will sign and close towards the end of June,” adds the banker. Cobra, a subsidiary of Spain’s Grupo ACS, is constructing the project, which has a PPA with the CFE and a $220m total cost. Oaxaca I will be followed by Oaxaca 2, 3 and 4, say bankers, who expect the sequels to raise $450m in debt between the 3 projects. Spain’s Acciona apparently won the bidding for those deals, bankers say. The new flurry of Mexican wind projects follow a $375m package for the Eurus wind farm in Oaxaca, which included a 15-year senior loan paying around 450bp over Libor. The financing includes a $325m IFC A/B loan and a $50m IDB tranche. Banco Espirito Santo, BBVA, DEG, Proparco, Bancomext and Nafinsa are involved, while Banobras and CFE are heard to be participating. The transaction is expected to close next month.