The government of Peru is on track to receive $95m in loans from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). A JPY4.4bn ($54.9m) 25-year loan with a 1.7% fixed interest rate will fund an irrigation project and a JPY3.2bn ($40m) 25-year loan, also with a 1.7% fixed interest rate, will fund water and sanitation projects. A commitment note has been signed by the countries’ governments, with the loan agreement still pending, according to a person familiar with the financing. The two aforementioned projects are focused mainly on poverty reduction in Peru’s Sierra region. JICA has 38 prior projects with Peru.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
Bladex Sets Date for Mexican Debut
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (Bladex) is targeting a March 14 pricing for what would be the Panama-based supranational’s debut in the Mexican bond market, according to presale documents. The bank plans a sale of up to MXP3bn ($234m) in floating-rate bonds with a 3-5 year maturity. Proceeds are destined to fund operations. HSBC and Santander are leading the transaction, rated AAA on a national scale.
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexico’s Genomma Faces Heat in US Bid
A poor market reaction and a possible legal challenge confronted Mexican pharmaceutical marketer Genomma Lab following a bid to acquire Prestige Brands Holdings (PBH), a healthcare and house cleaning products company in the US. Genomma’s shares lost 9.41% Tuesday, following the announcement of an offer to pay $16.60 per common share, or $834m, for PBH. The acquisition would also mean assuming the company’s outstanding debt of $891m, according to Janney Capital Markets. Genomma made the offer to PBH’s board and also revealed the details publicly to Prestige shareholders, a move that has cast doubt on the amicable terms of the deal. Others question its thinking. “It doesn’t make sense. Their strategy is Mexico and Latin America. It’s difficult to see what they would bring to the table here,” says an equity analyst who covers Genomma. He notes that its US operations involve marketing its existing products to Hispanics, but managing Prestige’s brands would involve new products in a broader market with different characteristics. The offer represents a 23% premium over PBH’s closing price on Friday and is 47% higher than the average for the past three months, it says. “Our strong preference is to work with you to negotiate a mutually acceptable transaction and avoid unnecessary costs,” Genomma’s chief, Rodrigo Herrera Aspra, says in the note to PBH shareholders. Herrera adds that Genomma has already received “indications of interest” from banks willing to finance the acquisition. It expects the transaction could close in three weeks if both parties move quickly and willingly. However, Janney Capital Markets calls the transaction “dubious,” and estimates there is only a 50% chance the deal may actually go through, it says in a report. The offer represents an implied 9.5x Ebitda in the best case scenario, it notes. The transaction is also facing a potential class action litigation from apparently dissatisfied PBH shareholders. Law firm Faruqi & Faruqi, which claims to repre
Posted inDaily Brief
BNDES Approves Hyundai Brasil Loan
BNDES has approved a 6.5-year, BRL307.4m ($179.3m) loan for Hyundai Motor Brasil. The interest rate is the TJLP plus a spread which BNDES declines to disclose. Proceeds will support manufacturing at the Piracicaba plant, the South Korean firm’s first factory in Brazil.
Posted inDaily Brief
Irish Renewable Power Inks Chilean Wind Deal
Irish renewable energy developer Mainstream Renewable Power (MRP), has struck a deal with Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology to build the Ckani wind farm in Chile. The 50/50 deal involves the initial building stages of the wind farm to be located in the Antofagasta region in northern Chile, MRP says. As agreed, a subsidiary of the Chinese company will supply 47 of its GW87 1.5 MW capacity wind turbines for the venture. Officials at Mainstream and Goldwind could not be reached for comment for additional details. The Ckani farm, as designed, has a potential generating capacity of 240MW which is expected to be fully operational by 2015. Late last year, the two companies struck an earlier deal where Mainstream bought 23 of Goldwind’s turbines to supply Chile’s Negrete Cuel wind farm.
Posted inDaily Brief
Credito Real Eyes March Pricing
Mexcio’s Credito Real is targeting a March pricing for a new domestic bond of up to MXP1bn ($78m), according to company officials. The deal had been expected this week. BBVA is managing the sale, expected at a 2.7-year maturity and rated A/A minus on a national scale. Elsewhere in the Mexican domestic market, fleet leasing company Facileasing is expected to price an up to MXP1bn local 3-year bond today. BBVA is managing the sale, rated AAA on a national scale.
Posted inDaily Brief
Infonavit Preps RMBS
Mexican mortgage and social services entity Infonavit plans to sell an up to MXP3bn ($235m) UDI-denominated RMBS bond in the domestic market at the end of March. The 28-year security will be backed by Infonavit mortgages. Proceeds will be used to create new mortgages. Banamex and BBVA Bancomer are managing the AAA rated transaction. Infonavit last sold MXP4.97bn in UDI-denominated 28-year RMBS bonds in early February, pricing them at 4.50% or Udibonos+280bp, via Banamex and HSBC.
Posted inDaily Brief
KOF Eyes Coke’s Philippines Bottler
Mexico’s Coca-Cola Femsa (KOF) has struck an exclusivity agreement with Coca-Cola to analyze the possible acquisition of a majority stake in Coca-Cola’s bottling operations in the Philippines. The deal is good for 12 months, KOF says, but does not guarantee that a transaction will occur. Officials at KOF and Coca-Cola could not immediately be reached for comment. The agreement comes as the Mexican bottler is working to consolidate its position in the Latin American soft-drink bottling business. Such an acquisition would mark its first move outside LatAm. KOF and competing Mexican Coke bottler Arca Continental have been purchasing independent bottlers in Mexico and others in Latin America in a buying spree that is expected to continue over the coming year.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colombia Local Pipeline Swells
Colombians are hoping a COP400bn ($223m) issuance from Findeter will mark the start of a more active few weeks in the local bond market as Titularizadora Colombia and Bancoldex also prepare deals. Securitization specialist Titularizadora Colombia is planning a COP328bn 10-year bond sale, according to DCM bankers. In November, Titularizadora Colombia sold COP379.3bn of 10-year MBSs, or TIPs as they are called locally, and got a rate of 7.6%. Titularizadora is coordinating its own deal, and is rated AAA on a national scale. Development bank Bancoldex is expected to raise COP200bn-COP300bn on March 7 through bonds with tenors of 1.5 years, 2 years and 3 years. It is self-leading the sale. In its last deal, it raised COP117.65bn, with a COP80bn 18-month piece paying 5.3% or 145bp over DTF and a COP95bn 21-month piece paying 5.33% or 148bp over DTF.
Posted inDaily Brief
Copec Prepares Proenergia Tender
As part of its ongoing takeover of Colombian fuel distributor Terpel, Compania de Petroleos de Chile (Copec) is set to launch an up to COP540.9bn ($304m) buyback offer to shareholders of Proenergia. Copec holds 56.15% of Proenergia, and is offering holders COP9,280 per share for the remaining 43.85%, or 58.29m shares. The offer is open February 27 through March 9. Copec plans to use its own resources to fund the purchase, and says it has $125m-equivalent in credit guarantees from three Chilean banks. Proenergia controls 52.78% of Sociedad de Inversiones en Energia, which in turn controls Terpel. Copec has already agreed to buy Corficolombiana’s 9.99% stake in Proenergia, it says. Corredores Asociasos is managing the process. Proegnergia shares were at COP8,760 Friday. Copec acquired an initial 47.2% stake in Proenergia when it bought the assets of AEI in Colombia last year.