Banco Itau Chile is offering Libor plus 90bp on a 2 year $150m term loan facility, according to bankers not on the deal. Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas are the leads on the transaction, with the banks meeting set for Wednesday. Bankers away from the deal expect proceeds of the loan to go toward general corporate purposes. Two bankers say pricing seems a little tight, compared to the loans of other Chilean financial institutions with substantially larger market shares. In August, Santander Chile received a $175m syndicated loan from 8 banks, including 3 Taiwanese participants. The 18 month facility priced at Libor plus 80bp. Chile’s Corpbanca also closed a $167.5m 2 year loan in August. Pricing was on a ratings grid, out of the box at 95bp for BBB+.
Category: Chile
People: Brazilian IB Moves
Eduardo Centola has joined UBS as CEO of the investment bank in Brazil, where the Swiss bank is focused on rebuilding its coverage.
Best Bank – Chile
Santander Chile says its strength has come from growing selectively and increasing sales without expanding the client base too much, so that it can control risk.
Best Investment Bank – Chile
Chile-based investment bank Celfín Capital has seized the boom in 2010 as an opportunity to push it into the big leagues.
Sustainable Banking: Complacency Sets In
LatAm banks show a distinct lack of innovation in sustainability and corporate governance. Mid-caps are improving, but institutions of all sizes fail to properly value investment in compliance.
Codelco Mines Tight End
Playing on its scarcity value and hunger for paper, Coldelco has raised $1bn in new 2020 bonds at the tight end of talk. The A1/A bonds priced at 98.239 with a 3.750% coupon to yield 3.965%, or UST plus 130bp, the tight end of 135bp area guidance. “This was fairly priced, with a very limited upside, perhaps 10bp-15bp,” Diego Torres, corporate debt analyst at Santiago-based Munita, Cruzat y Claro, tells LatinFinance. Codelco’s 2019s traded around UST+115bp in the secondary market, according to investors, with the Chile sovereign 2020 giving UST plus 70bp-75bp. “With rates where they are, high-quality LatAm companies have been getting very good deals, and we have seen it again with Codelco,” says Torres. The infrequently issuing Chilean miner brought in $3.5bn in demand, according to bankers on the trade. The bonds were heard up 0.5-1.5 points in the grey at the end of the day Thursday. Codelco plans to use proceeds to partially finance capital expenditures and refinance existing debt obligations. Deutsche Bank and HSBC managed the sale. The book was about 80% US investors skewed toward high-grade dedicated accounts rather than EM, say bankers on the deal. First bond since a January 2009 sale of $600m of 2019s.
Copeval Board OKs Issue
The board of Chile-based agribusiness company Copeval has approved a bond issue of up to UF2.5m ($108m) and is now seeking authorization from local regulators. The issue will be done in 2 tranches, one for up to 10 years and the other for up to 30 years. Proceeds of the non-convertible notes would be used to pay down short and long-term debt and for capex. Copeval has not selected banks to lead the process.
Itau Chile Heard Shopping Loan
Banco Itau Chile is expected to launch next week a syndicated loan. Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas are heard running the transaction and a bank meeting is scheduled for November 3 in New York. A $150m senior unsecured term loan facility is expected by bankers not on the deal. It is unclear why the bank is funding itself in Chile.
LAN Buys Colombia Airline
Chilean airline LAN says it is acquiring a 99% stake in Colombian peer Aires for $32.5m. Analysts believe the buyer will be assuming Aires’ debt, since the acquisition price seems low. LAN says the price will be adjusted according to variations in Aires’ debt between the value at closing of the transaction and the value as stated in the company’s financial statements as of August 31. “This is a very good price for a company that has a 22% market share,” says Cristina Acle, a Chile-based equities analyst with Corp Group. Felipe Mercado, an equity analyst with Banchile agrees. “Colombia, with 10m passengers a year, has double the volume of other LAN markets such as Chile and Peru,” says Mercado. Both analysts believe it is probable that LAN will pay for Aires with cash on hand. LAN reported Q3 profit of $106m. Aires, founded in 1980, is the second largest domestic airline in Colombia. It provides service to 27 domestic destinations and 3 international destinations, and has a fleet of 24 airplanes. Analysts were unable to determine the enterprise value or debt load of the privately held company. LAN officials decline to say if there were any financial advisors involved.
Telefonica Moviles Preps Debut
Telefonica Moviles, the wireless unit of Telefonica in Chile, is preparing its first dollar bond. It plans a $380m 5-year deal, according to Fitch, which assigns a BBB+ rating. It is set to start roadshowing today in Los Angeles and visit London before finishing in Boston and New York Tuesday. BBVA, Citi and Deutsche Bank are managing.