Category: Mexico

Net Servicos de Comunicacao has obtained a loan for $200m from Mexico’s Inbursa. The facility due 2019 carries an annual rate of 7.875%. It plans to use proceeds to finance the acquisition of companies operating under the BIGTV brand name agreed in May, as well as for funding organic growth. “When we were looking at different options, Inbursa presented the best conditions,” explains an IR official. He notes that Net has considered various international lenders before, but this is the first deal in Mexico.

Spanish developer Grupo Lar will invest MXP1.1bn in a new housing development in Puebla, Mexico, the company says. The new development will include 469 houses, as well as parking stations and other amenities. Construction on the site is expected to start in Q3 2008, Lar adds. The company already has several housing developments in Mexico City, Cancun and Guadalajara.

Moody’s has chopped the outlook on Ford Credit de Mexico, local national scale debt ratings to negative from stable. At the same time, the Baa1.mx long-term debt ratings were affirmed. The action follows Moody’s decision to cut Ford Motor Credit Company’s outlook to negative from stable, the agency says. Ford Credit de Mexico’s debt ratings are based on irrevocable and unconditional guarantees from the parent.

Mexican debt markets remain active, partly due to access and relative value for issuers associated with tougher external markets conditions, particularly in the US. BBVA Bancomer is expected to price up to MXP4.1bn in 2027 RMBS as soon as Wednesday. The notes are rated AAA on a national scale and backed by a pool of 8,200 of Bancomer-originated mortgage credits, according to a regulatory filing. BBVA’s own capital markets unit is managing the sale. Fellow lender Banorte is preparing up to MXP3bn in 2018 bonds to strengthen its capital base. Also set for Wednesday is Financiera Independencia, with MXP1bn in 2011 floating-rate bonds via HSBC.

Ohio-based Cooper Tire & Rubber is taking a 38% stake in a new tire manufacturing facility in Guadalajara, Mexico for $31m. Mexico’s IBSA and Cooperativa Tradoc will be Cooper’s partners on the ground. All three companies will jointly operate the new plant, which will supplement Cooper’s US production and open markets in Mexico, the acquirer says.

Mexico’s Banorte has filed to sell up to MXP3bn in 2018 bonds, in a transaction expected to occur Wednesday. Proceeds from the Triple A locally-rated sale, will strengthen the bank’s capital base. Banorte’s own capital markets unit will manage the deal.

Indian tire manufacturer JKTyre has purchased Mexican tire and rim company Llantas Tornel for $67m, the Mexican company says. The company plans to keep the Tornel brand and also launch the JKTyre brand all over the Americas, Raul Tornel, public relations manager for Llantas Tornel says. The current executive team will continue at the helm of the Mexican company, Tornel says, with support from executives from the Indian parent company.

Spanish developer Acciona has won the bid to build the expansion of the Campeche XXI convention center in San Juan de Campeche, southeastern Mexico. Acciona says it will invest MXP220m in the expansion of the building. The project features electrical and sanitation facilities for the complex, as well as rooms for data and voice recording.

Moody’s has chopped the issuer ratings of the Mexican municipality of Tonala to Baa1 on the local scale and B1 on the global scale. The rating change was prompted by a continued deterioration in financial performance over the last few years, the agency says. This has translated into large borrowing requirements and tighter liquidity levels. “The new ratings also take into account the absence of major contingent liabilities, as well as the municipality’s narrow economic base and large infrastructure needs,” Moody’s adds. The outlook incorporates a low likelihood that the involvement of some municipal officials in a corruption case will directly affect the municipality’s credit.

Fitch has put Mexico’s B minus rated Sanluis on rating watch negative owing to a weak liquidity position. The firm had $23.2m of cash and marketable securities on its balance sheet at the end of March 31 and is also susceptible to deterioration in the US auto industry, particularly light truck vehicles. “Cash-on-hand plus cash flow generation may be insufficient to continue amortizing debt in the near-term,” says Fitch. Amortizing debt for the next three fiscal year consist of $35m in 2008 (full year), $36m in 2009, and $93m in 2010. “Difficult credit market conditions, beyond management’s control, have delayed the company’s ability to complete a bond offering announced in October of 2007, which has been put on hold awaiting credit market improvement. However, financial performance deterioration in 2008 may complicate the company’s ability to refinance its debt,” says Fitch. It expects to resolve the review in the next 3-6 months. Sanluis is the world’s largest producer of leaf springs, supplying GM, Ford and Chrysler. It operates in the US, Mexico, and Brazil.