Sponsors of the Eten power project in Peru are planning to raise $145m through a senior secured bond due 2034 to fund construction, according to Fitch, which assigns a BBB minus rating. The Planta de Reserva Fria de Generacion de Eten project is sponsored by Cobra Peru, a unit of Spain’s ACS, and EMCE. The senior secured notes come with a 20% credit guarantee from development bank CAF. The 223 megawatt simple-cycle natural-gas fired power plant will be located in Peru’s Chiclayo province, and was awarded to a consortium comprised of Cobra and Enersa in 2011. BTG Pactual is managing the transaction.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
Cabei Preps MXP Debt
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) plans to raise up to MXP2bn ($154m) through a bond sale in Mexico’s domestic market, according to S&P which assigns a AAA domestic rating. The 2016 bond will pay a spread to the TIIE. JPMorgan is managing the transaction, according to people following the sale. The bank sees current swaps as very attractive, and while it doesn’t need funding in MXP, a transaction would represent an opportunistic trade. The well-traveled borrower is considering issuance in a range of currencies and markets this year, fulfilling plans to raise some $800m in the markets this year. The bank is also mulling a Taiwanese dollar or offshore renminbi issuance in Taiwan. Last month it raised CNH500m ($80m) in its first-ever offshore renminbi bond deal, pricing at par with a 3.20% coupon.
Posted inDaily Brief
AES Panama Lowered
S&P has downgraded AES Panama to BB+ from BBB minus, it says, due to a less favorable risk profile.The agency finds that the hydroelectric generator’s business and financial risk profiles have weakened due to changes in its power purchase agreement with sister company AES Changuinola. The outlook is stable.
Posted inDaily Brief
Panama Emerges with LM
The Republic of Panama has launched a three-day cash tender offer targeting holders of its $962m outstanding in 7.25% 2015 bonds, it says. The sovereign is offering $1,091 per $1,000 principal through Tuesday. Liability management has been a strong theme for sovereigns in LatAm this year, and Panamanian officials have previously indicated they would be interested in joining in. Last year, Mahesh Khemlani, then Panama’s vice minister of finance, told LatinFinance the sovereign had looked at its 2015 dollar bonds as a starting point. Panama is not specific about what it could sell to raise funds for the cash tender, noting only that Friday’s tender is “conditioned upon settlement of an issue of local Panamanian bonds or other financing, or a combination.” Citi and JPMorgan are dealer managers. Panama, rated Baa2/BBB/BBB was last in the dollar bond market in April when it priced a $750m 40-year bond.
Posted inDaily Brief
Codensa Places Well Bid Domestic Bond
Codensa has raised COP275bn ($143m) in Colombia’s domestic bond market, according to people following the sale. The electric distributor priced a COP166.4bn 2018 tranche at IPC+3.92, inside a 4.40% limit, and a COP108.6bn 2025 portion at IPC+4.80%, inside a 5.40% limit. Total demand reached COP900bn. Codensa is raising proceeds to pre-finance upcoming bond maturities. Corredores Asociados, Bancolombia, Correval and BBVA managed the deal, rated AAA on a local scale.
Posted inDaily Brief
EEB Adds to 2021
Empresa Energia de Bogota (EEB) has raised $112m through a private placement reopening its 6.125% 2021 bond, it says. The total issue size is now $722m, following the initial $610m sale. The BBB minus/ Baa3 borrower reopened the bond at 101.75 to yield 5.847% in a deal done quietly during the previous week. Proceeds will be sued to help finance investments in Guatemala and thus strengthening transmission infrastructure in Guatemala through its affiliates Tecsa and EEBIS. Deutsche Bank managed. The markets expect more fundraising ahead from EEB, particularly if it emerges the winner of the sale process of the Colombian government’s 57.7% stake in Isagen. EEB indicated its interest in August, entering a process with other bidders including Grupo Argos, Duke Energy and GDF Suez. The government is asking $2.63bn for the stake.
Posted inDaily Brief
Fibra Names CFO
Terrafina has named Angel Bernal as CFO, it says, effective December 15. He will report to Alberto Chretin, CEO of the trust focused on industrial properties. Bernal joins from LaSalle Investment Management Mexico, where he was vp and acquisitions officer. He replaces Francisco Navarro.
Posted inDaily Brief
Fitch Raises Mexichem
Fitch has upgraded Mexichem’s rating to BBB from BBB minus, it says, based on a strong business and financial profile. The Mexican petrochemical producer has doubled in size since 2009, through organic growth and acquisitions. The agency calls Mexichem’s credit metrics “strong,” and expects net leverage will remain within the management’s 2.0x target. “Mexichem’s financial profile is underpinned by its recurring positive free cash flow and its strong business profile as a leading vertically integrated chemical and petrochemical company in Mexico, with a geographically diversified operating base and low cost structure,” Fitch says. Total debt to Ebitda for the 12 months ended September 30 was 2.5x and net debt to Ebitda 1.1x. The outlook is stable.
Posted inDaily Brief
Fovissste Plans RMBS
Mexican government-backed housing lender Fovissste plans to raise up to MXP4.6bn ($357m) through a domestic RMBS sale in December, according to a regulatory filing. The planned 29.5-year fixed-rate bond is denominated in UDIs. Proceeds will fund lending. Actinver, Banorte-Ixe, and CI Casa de Bolsa are managing the sale, rated AAA on a national scale. Fovissste last visited the local market in October, raising MXP4.6bn in a UDI-denominated 2039 issue which was priced at 3.23%, or Udibonos+185bp.
Posted inDaily Brief
Sigma Readies IPO Papers
Mexico’s Sigma Aliementos has made the initial filing for its IPO process, according to regulatory documents. The Grupo Alfa subsidiary has hired Citi, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Banorte-Ixe. The size and timing remain unclear, though a filing now leaves open the possibility to get a deal done before the end of the year. The filing follows last week’s unveiling of a EUR675m ($908m) bid for European meat company Campofrio Food Group.