Grupo Ferrominero (GFM), the owner of Minera Autlan, has changed its strategy and is no longer actively pursuing a strategic sale of the Mexican manganese miner. Autlan shares plummeted 27% Tuesday. “We have decided we’d rather be buyers than sellers,” a company executive tells LatinFinance, adding that this includes investing in Autlan and potentially acquiring other similar businesses. The cryptic statement is supported by an equally muddled notice to the BMV Tuesday saying that after having examined various strategic options for Autlan, GFM will stick with its “current strategy” regarding the company, which involves developing projects that reduce energy costs – historically a drag on performance – and continuing to improve manganese refining capabilities. Autlan, which until recently had a market cap of nearly $2bn, was heard approached by major global steel and mining concerns, including Vale, Glencore, ArcelorMittal, Citic, Eramet, BHP Billiton and Tenaris. The price of manganese has soared over the past year, which, added to rumors of a sale, contributed to a sharp rise in Autlan stock. The company had hired Lehman to advise on the sale and last week said it had retained the bankrupt institution to advise on a sale. Officials at Lehman, whose investment banking division is being sold to Barclays, were not available to comment. Autlan shares closed at MXP52.01, down from MXP70.65 the previous session.
Category: Regions
AWARDS: Infrastructure House
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Darby Presses on with Mexico Vehicle
Darby Overseas is nearing a close on its Mexico infrastructure fund, which officials familiar with the matter estimate will be worth at least $500m. The vehicle is designed to invest in medium-sized projects in the country, whose government has made infrastructure a top priority. In Mexico, Darby targets projects that can return up to around 25%. “We feel that many institutional investors want to enter emerging markets via infrastructure to achieve more stable returns,” says Fernando Gentil, Darby’s chief Brazil investment officer. “We want to leverage our know-how in infrastructure and in EM.”
ICA Brings MXP2.25bn Highway Loan
Mexican builder ICA has launched syndication of a MXP2.25bn 17-year project financing to support construction of the Rio Verde-Ciudad Valles highway in the state of San Luis Potosi. The concession for the 112-km highway was awarded to ICA under the PPP mechanism in 2007. Santander is sole bookrunner.
Colombia Readies Toll Road Auction
An auction for the concession to build and operate Colombia’s Ruta del Sol is scheduled for the fourth quarter, say officials involved in the process. “We plan to issue the RFP [to bidding consortiums] in the fourth quarter,” Roberto Albisetti, head of the Andean region for the IFC, which is lead advisor on the project, tells LatinFinance. The project is expected to weigh in at over $2bn and include a 900km 4-lane highway connecting Bogota to the Caribbean coast. The financing structure will depend largely on the Colombian government, represented by the ministry of transport and Inco, the concessions body, which will decide how much of the road it is willing to finance, says Albisetti. Once that is established, the deal will take pitches from consortia, made up of builders, banks and equity investors. Given the size and national importance of the deal, a wide range of participants – including global infrastructure players, multilateral lenders and commercial banks – is expected to put in offers.
Calderon Unveils Resort Plan
Mexico plans to put MXP5bn into a new tourism resort in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa. According to president Calderon, this is the government’s most important tourism project in 25 years, and could attract MXP66bn in private investment. It will be double the size of Cancun and, according to the tourism ministry, will be able to receive 3m tourists a year and generate revenue of $2.8bn. The resort is being financed through Fonatur.
IFC Homes in on Peru
The IFC has named Roberto Albisetti country head for Peru. The Italian national with a decade-long career at the IFC already covers Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. “We’re looking closely at participating in infrastructure projects in Peru,” Albisetti tells LatinFinance, noting that the multilateral has already been active in financial institutions and some mining initiatives there. “We are looking at the possibility of investing in projects outside of Lima,” notes Albisetti, commenting on the need to ramp up development beyond the capital. The IFC’s Peru portfolio stood at $810m in the fiscal year ended in 2008.
Endesa Launches Peru Tender
Spain’s Endesa has filed a required tender offer for the 24% it does not already own in three listed Peruvian units, for up to $465m. The tender is being done to comply with Peruvian regulations after Spanish infrastructure and energy company Acciona and Italian utility Enel took over Endesa last year. The units include generators Edegel and Empresa Electrica de Piura – which have a combined capacity of more than 1,600MW – and distributor Edelnor.