IMG Worldwide, a US-based sports, entertainment and media business, and EBX Group will form a 50/50 JV to pursue sports and entertainment opportunities in Brazil. The new company, to be called IMGX, will consider a broad range of investments. They may include golf and tennis tournaments, volleyball and surfing leagues, stadiums, and sports marketing businesses geared toward the upcoming World Cup and Olympic games, according to an IMG spokesman. Eike Batista, founder and chairman of EBX, a Brazilian infrastructure and natural resource developer, is also investing in the Rio marina, and IMGX may seek to leverage developments there with additional sports and entertainment investments. No advisors were retained on the deal, and IMG did not respond to questions regarding capitalization plans for the new company.
Category: Regions
BBVA Readies Bond
BBVA Continental is preparing a benchmark-sized 2020 issue. The deal is whispered at UST (2.72% yesterday) plus 287.5bp area, according to an investor following it. The Peruvian bank is expected to price this week, possibly as soon as today, according to bankers on it. BBVA, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are managing the sale, rated BBB/BBB minus. It follows the $200m Continental raised in September through the issue of 7.375% of 2040 NC10 step-up bonds. The bank is raising funds for general corporate purposes.
InBev BRL Debut Fizzes
Anheuser-Busch InBev, which holds the LatAm assets of AmBev, has sold BRL750m in global real-denominated bonds. The international brewer’s Baa2/BBB+ 2015 bond priced at par with a 9.750% coupon to yield at the tight end of 9.875% area guidance, revised from initial 10.000%-10.125%. Demand topped BRL2bn, bankers on the deal say, including EM-focused and high-grade investors with a wide geographic distribution. Barclays, Deutsche and Itau managed the deal. It follows a Brazil sovereign BRL1bn 2028 retap and a BRL575m 2020 issuance by Morgan Stanley, both done last month to fuel surging investor demand for local currency exposure. Bankers, already pitching sovereigns and LatAm corporates with global local currency structures, expect more issuer candidates to emerge among global companies with sizeable LatAm assets.
Peru Set for Double Tap
Peru is readying a dual-tranche bond issuance of at least $1bn, set to price today. Both tranches are expected to be at least $500m or equivalent in size. The sovereign is issuing new 2050 bonds and retapping a 7.84% of 2020 PES-denominated issue. Whispers on the Baa3/BBB minus 2050 dollar portion are in the high 5.00% area yield, according to investors, who note this would mean some pickup to the 2037s trading to yield 5.15%-5.20%. Talk on the Baa3/BBB+/BBB sol-denominated retap is heard at 6.00% area, with the 2020 trading to yield 5.40%-5.50% prior to announcement. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are managing.
Votorantim Looks to Swiss Market
Banco Votorantim plans to become the first Brazilian issuer in Swiss francs in more than 10 years, with a CHF200m bond set to price as soon as tomorrow, according to bankers on it. The Brazilian bank is looking at a 3-year bond, with price talk indicating a 2.75% yield. Deutsche Bank is managing the sale. The last CHF issuance for a Brazilian entity was BNDES, with a CHF150m sale in 1997, according to Dealogic. It does not show any previous public market CHF issuance from a Brazilian corporate issuer.
Bimbo Consumes Sara Lee US
Grupo Bimbo will acquire the US bakery assets of Sara Lee for $959m. The deal price is less than the $1.1bn-$1.5bn bankers and analysts had forecast for the unit. However, it does not include Sara Lee’s Spanish or Australian assets, which several analysts had thought would be particularly attractive to Bimbo. Sara Lee owns the Bimbo brand in Spain, for example, which the original Bimbo founding family had sold years earlier and was eventually acquired by Sara Lee. The deal value implies an 8.9x Ebitda multiple on LTM adjusted Ebitda of $108m, above the 7x-8x Ebitda multiple that had been expected, according to analyst reports. Bimbo says it has identified $150m-$200m in potential synergies through operational overlap, which would bring the synergized multiple down to 3.7x EBITDA. Sara Lee refers questions to Bimbo, which does not return calls for comment. BAML is advising Sara Lee, with Bimbo retaining Atlas Advisors. The bank market is getting ready for an associated financing, which would have to launch soon to get done this year. The late 2008 acquisition of Weston Foods’ Eastern US distribution assets by Bimbo included a dual tranche, dual currency $1.7 billion syndicated loan via Bank of America, BBVA, Citi, ING, HSBC and Santander.
Polo Signs MinFer Option
Polo Resources, a Canadian natural resources company, has an option to acquire 70% of the issued capital of MinFer Holdings, which owns the Minfer do Brazil Mineracao subsidiary. Minfer acquires and explores Brazilian iron ore projects. The option is exercisable within 90 days. If fully exercised, the option could be worth $20m.
GBM Seeks MXP Bond Issue
Grupo Bursatil Mexicano, the Mexico-based brokerage company, is looking to issue MXP300m in 3-year bonds at the beginning of December, according to a regulatory filing. The bonds will pay a spread over TIIE and are awaiting a national scale rating. The use of proceeds from the self-led deal will be used to pay back outstanding debt.
Peru to Get IDB Loan
The IDB has approved a $110m loan to Peru to reduce poverty by strengthening its principal social protection and labor programs. The loan comes from IDB’s ordinary capital and has an amortization period of 20 years with a 5-year grace period and an interest rate based on Libor.
Alfa Offers Spread on Acquisition Loan
Mexican conglomerate Alfa is heard to be offering a spread of 300bp over Libor on a leveraged grid for its syndicated loan to back the $600m purchase of Eastman Chemical assets in the US. A $600m 3-year bullet facility is expected to be syndicated. Invites have been sent out but meetings have not been fixed, according to people close to the transaction. Meetings are expected first in Mexico City, followed by New York. Credit Suisse and HSBC are the leads. Alfa’s purchase of Eastman’s polyethylene terephthalate resins business and related assets and technology of its Performance Polymers segment was done by Alfa unit DAK Americas. BAML advised Eastman while HSBC worked on the buyside. Fitch downgraded Alfa subsidiary Grupo Petrotemex to BB (stable) from BB+, including notes issued by DAK, amid fears over leverage incurred in the purchase. On a pro-forma basis, Fitch estimates that Petrotemex’s total debt-to-Ebitda, including 12 months of Eastman assets operations, could reach 3.3x in 2010 before gradually decreasing. This compares negatively with a total debt-to-Ebitda ratio of 2.2x for the 12 months to June 30, and falls outside Fitch’s prior leverage estimate of 2.0x-2.5x. Nonetheless, Fitch notes that the investment is strategic and positive for Petrotemex, and should strengthen its business as it gains PET market share in North America.