Grupo Herdez has issued MXP3bn ($230m) in fixed and floating-rate domestic bonds, according to people familiar with the transaction. The maker of salsas and other food products priced a MXP2.0bn 10-year fixed rate bond at 8.02%, or Mbonos+170bp, at the wide end of 160bp-170bp guidance. It also priced a MXP1.0bn 5-year bond at TIIE+54bp, in line with guidance. The issuer is rated AA on a national scale, and is raising proceeds to improve its debt profile and for general corporate purposes. BBVA Bancomer and HSBC managed. The borrower’s previous domestic deal was a MXP600m 2015 bond done in 2011 at TIIE+60bp.
Category: Regions
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Petrobras Sells Peru Assets to China
PetroChina has agreed to acquire Petrobras’ Peruvian oil and gas assets for $2.6bn, Petrobras says. The Petrobras Energia Peru subsidiary has three oil and gas fields in Peru, producing about 800,000 tons oil-equivalent a year. The sale comes as a part of a series of asset sales, recently including the September sale of oil blocks and pipelines in Colombia to Perenco UK for $380m. Citi advised Petrobras and Deutsche Bank advised PetroChina, according to Dealogic data. Separately, the Brazilian state-controlled oil company is eliminating the Petrobras International Finance Company (PIFCo), which was responsible for issuing in the bond markets during 2001-2012. The unit’s assets will be merged either back into the parent or into the Petrobras Global Finance BV subsidiary.
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Fitch Raises Outlooks for BBVA, Santander Units
Fitch has changed the rating outlooks for BBVA Colombia and Banco Santander Chile to stable from negative, it says, following similar moves at the parents. BBVA Colombia (BBB) and Santander Chile (A+)
each remain core to their parents’ global business, Fitch says. All of the pair’s regional subsidiaries have generally maintained strong balance sheets and robust performances through the crisis and contributed on average about 25% of their profits since 2010. The subsidiaries should also help shield the banks from softer numbers inside Spain.
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HSBC Mexico to Issue Rare Local Bond
HSBC Mexico plans to issue up to MXP5bn ($379m) in the domestic bond market, according to people familiar with the deal, what would be the bank’s first domestic deal in four years. The Mexican arm of HSBC Holdings is selling 5-year floating-rate bonds and 10-year fixed-rate bonds, with pricing tentatively scheduled for December. Proceeds would help fund the bank’s portfolio. HSBC’s own capital markets arm is managing the transaction, rated AAA on a national scale. Its last domestic offering was a MXP4.180bn subordinated bond sale in June 2009.
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Pepsi Bottler Readies Debut
Mexico’s Cultiba is preparing to raise up to MXP1.2bn ($91m) in what would be its domestic bond market debut, according to regulatory filings. The beverage company is targeting 5-year floating- rate notes to raise funds for general corporate purposes. Banorte-Ixe and Santander are managing the transaction, rated AA/AA minus on a national scale. Cultiba has a license from Pepsi to produce, distribute and sell Pepsi and several other brands and is also involved in the production of cane sugar and molasses. The issuer formerly known as Embotelladoras Unidas raised MXP3.94bn ($310m) in an equity follow-on in January that largely served as a re-IPO.
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Vitro Nears Domestic ABS
Mexico’s Vitro plans to price a domestic ABS of up to MXP1.2bn ($91m) Thursday, according to people familiar with the transaction. The 3-year floating-rate deal backed by accounts receivables would be the glassmaker’s first local bond since before its bankruptcy process. Proceeds will be used to fund operations. The issuance is rated AAA on a national scale and led by BBVA Bancomer and Banorte-Ixe. Vitro last priced a domestic bond in 2005, raising MXP550m, according to Dealogic data.
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PdVSA Talks Bond Sale
Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA) plans to sell $4.5bn in new bonds this week in a private placement, according to public remarks made by Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez cited in wire and local press reports.
The debt sale would be the first out of Venezuela this year, and would help the company to meet its commitments through the end of the year. The official did not give details about maturities or pricing. PdVSA has not issued bonds since a $3bn sale in May of 2012, and the Venezuela sovereign has been out of the market since 2011, according to Dealogic data.
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Guatemalan Waits on Bond Debut
Guatemalan sugar producer and exporter Ingenio Magdalena has decided to postpone plans to issue its first international bond, citing pricing disconnect and treasury volatility, Rudy Maza, the issuer’s financial planning and risk manager tells LatinFinance. “We will look for a new window in 2014,” he says. He highlights a widening of the 10-year UST to 2.77% and a preference to revisit debut bond plans under more favorable market conditions and following the February US Fed meetings. With Brazilian sugar producers trading in the high double digits, Maza notes the difficulty in convincing buyside investors to buy into a challenging sector. “That was the main challenge, but Ingenio Magdalena is not Brazil,” he says. Magdalena found recent Guatemala deals trading in the 7%-area as interesting pricing points for its debut, despite differences in rating and sector. Ingenio was looking for a $400m bond transaction, according to Fitch, which assigned a BB minus rating, at a 5-10 year maturity. The issuer was raising funds to refinance existing debt and for general corporate purposes. Citi and JPMorgan were managing the BB minus/BB minus transaction. After six cross-border transactions pricing last week, no new issuers have stepped out on the road to refill the pipeline. Coca-Cola Femsa, among the group marketing last week, finished a roadshow Thursday without any indication of a deal.
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Vale Cutting Aluminum Stake
Vale is preparing to sell a stake of as much as 12% in Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro, it says, which could fetch more than $1bn. Vale is selling up to 246m shares, including an overallotment option, through an accelerated bookbuilding process launched Monday. The block of shares would be worth NOK6.63bn ($1.08bn) at Monday’s NOK26.96 closing price. Morgan Stanley and DNB are slated to manage the transaction, according to a person familiar with it. The sale could take Vale’s stake in Norsk to 201m shares, or 9.7%, and is part of a divestiture plan to help the Brazilian miner cope with lower commodity prices that have meant leaner profits. In September, it sold stakes in its VLI cargo unit to a Caixa Economica Federal fund and Japan’s Mitsui for a total of BRL2.71bn ($1.2bn). This followed $1.47bn of divestments in 2012. Vale’s 22% position in Norsk Hydro comes from a $5.27bn 2011 sale of its bauxite and aluminum assets in Brazil to Norsk.
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CFE Defines Pricing Expectations
Mexico’s Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) is looking to pay Mbonos+130bp-140bp for the 10-year portion of a domestic bond sale scheduled to price Wednesday, according to people following the transaction. The government electricity monopoly is targeting up to MXP10bn ($766m) through the 10-year fixed-rate portion and a 5-year tranche paying a spread to the TIIE. The issuance falls under a MXP100bn program, and is to be managed by Banorte-Ixe, BBVA Bancomer, Santander and HSBC. CFE’s most recent domestic bond was in June, when the issuer priced a MXP12bn ($911m) floating rate note via Banorte-Ixe, HSBC and Santander. It is rated AAA on a national scale.