Category: Loans

Banco Itau has this week taken its $200m 2-year loan to general syndication. The facility pays Libor plus 40bp, and counts on ING, Unicredit, HSBC, Unicredit, BofA and Standard Chartered as MLAs. Calyon has the books.

Santander’s Brazilian arm is raising $200m in the international loan market for working capital and trade-related funding. A $50m 3-year working capital facility has already been subscribed by MLAs, and pays 55bp over Libor. A $150m trade facility is now being syndicated out to retail at 45bp over Libor. Both tranches are bullets. So far, Wachovia, Calyon and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi have joined as MLAs. Standard Chartered is running the book.

Brazil’s Grupo Votorantim has tapped WestLB to arrange a 1-year bridge financing of between $600m-$800m for its acquisition of a cement company. The 1-year loan is heard to be paying well under 50bp over Libor, according to bankers away from the transaction. A group of MLA candidates has been tapped and a retail syndication is expected in early 2008. In November 2006, Votorantim Cimentos acquired Ribeirao Grande, a Brazilian cement company, for $195m, according to Dealogic.

Brazil’s Itau SA has sent out invitations for participation in a $200m 2-year facility last week. The deal will pay Libor plus 40bp plus an up front fee of 25bp, say bankers away from the deal. MLA tickets are $30m apiece. Calyon has sole books.

The IDB has approved a $500m conditional credit line to support the 2008-2014 investment program of Costa Rica’s state-owned utility, ICE. Loans granted from the line will be for 25 years, with a 5-year grace period and a variable interest rate. Local counterpart funds for these investments will total $120m, says the IDB. The resources will finance preliminary studies for new hydroelectric and geothermal generation projects, modernization of equipment at the Rio Macho hydroelectric plant and a program to dredge and restore the reservoirs of six hydroelectric plants to increase productivity and extend the life. Electricity demand is forecast to grow at about 5.4% a year and Costa Rica will apparently have to double its power generation capacity every 15 years. The IDB says that in next eight years alone, ICE will have to invest some $4bn in generation, transmission and distribution.

The IDB has approved a $500m conditional credit line to support the 2008-2014 investment program of Costa Rica’s state-owned utility, ICE. Loans granted from the line will be for 25 years, with a 5-year grace period and a variable interest rate. Local counterpart funds for these investments will total $120m, says the IDB. The resources will finance preliminary studies for new hydroelectric and geothermal generation projects, modernization of equipment at the Rio Macho hydroelectric plant and a program to dredge and restore the reservoirs of six hydroelectric plants to increase productivity and extend the life. Electricity demand is forecast to grow at about 5.4% a year and Costa Rica will apparently have to double its power generation capacity every 15 years. The IDB says that in next eight years alone, ICE will have to invest some $4bn in generation, transmission and distribution.

The Brazilian arm of Banco Santander has put out invitations for a $200m 3-year bullet. The financial institution is looking for $125m in trade financing at 45bp over Libor and $75m in working capital at 55bp over Libor, according to a banker away from the deal. Santander is looking for MLAs for the financing. Standard Chartered has sole books.

Colombia’s Bancoldex is syndicating a two-tranche $120m loan to finance its lending business. A $70m 1-year tranche A will pay Libor plus 20bp, though investors can expect to receive an up front fee of on average 20bp, depending on the ticket size. A 3-year tranche B pays 37.5bp over Libor, increasing to 70bp over after the up-front. Standard Chartered and Wachovia are leading the deal, and have garnered commitments from up to two institutions, according to executives close to the transaction.

Santander filed a last minute commitment to participate as an MLA on Nemak’s $640m 5-year term loan. The bank took a $75m ticket, and is the sixth to join the MLA tier that already includes BNP Paribas, EDC, Comerica, ABN and BofA. The bookrunners on the deal are HSBC, Citi, BBVA and Standard Chartered. A retail bank meeting will be held today in Mexico City. The loan pays 75bp out of the box on a leverage grid that moves between 65bp and 85bp over Libor.

Chilean generating company Empresa Eléctrica Guacolda has tapped lead Calyon and MLAs Scotia Capital and Corpbanca for a 15-year $260m loan to fund construction of a 152MW coal and petcoke-fired power plant near Maitencillo in northern Chile. The leads are said to have approached a few banks for a club deal and general syndication is also being considered. Last year, Calyon led a $390m expansion financing and refinancing of debt tied to three Gualcolda plants. The borrower is jointly owned by AES Gener (50%), local industrial conglomerate Empresas Copec (25%) and Ultraterra (25%).