A group of Mexican investors has purchased 3.5% of Spain’s Banco Popular for $925m according to a filing with the Spanish regulator. The Mexican group has used a UK based vehicle called Blueprime to make the purchase, Fabian Picardo, a lawyer representing the entity, tells LatinFinance. Blueprime purchased 42m shares from Madrid based Grupo Hispania for EUR14.20 per share, according to Hispania. Blueprime aims to acquire 20% of the bank and is in talks with several shareholders for further share purchases, the company says.
Category: Regions
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Moody’s Cuts Ford Mexico Outlook
Moody’s has chopped the outlook on Ford Credit de Mexico, local national scale debt ratings to negative from stable. At the same time, the Baa1.mx long-term debt ratings were affirmed. The action follows Moody’s decision to cut Ford Motor Credit Company’s outlook to negative from stable, the agency says. Ford Credit de Mexico’s debt ratings are based on irrevocable and unconditional guarantees from the parent.
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Brazilian Cable Provider Borrows in Mexico
Net Servicos de Comunicacao has obtained a loan for $200m from Mexico’s Inbursa. The facility due 2019 carries an annual rate of 7.875%. It plans to use proceeds to finance the acquisition of companies operating under the BIGTV brand name agreed in May, as well as for funding organic growth. “When we were looking at different options, Inbursa presented the best conditions,” explains an IR official. He notes that Net has considered various international lenders before, but this is the first deal in Mexico.
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Spain’s Lar to Invest $1.1bn in Mexico
Spanish developer Grupo Lar will invest MXP1.1bn in a new housing development in Puebla, Mexico, the company says. The new development will include 469 houses, as well as parking stations and other amenities. Construction on the site is expected to start in Q3 2008, Lar adds. The company already has several housing developments in Mexico City, Cancun and Guadalajara.
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Lenders Add to Mexico DCM Pipeline
Mexican debt markets remain active, partly due to access and relative value for issuers associated with tougher external markets conditions, particularly in the US. BBVA Bancomer is expected to price up to MXP4.1bn in 2027 RMBS as soon as Wednesday. The notes are rated AAA on a national scale and backed by a pool of 8,200 of Bancomer-originated mortgage credits, according to a regulatory filing. BBVA’s own capital markets unit is managing the sale. Fellow lender Banorte is preparing up to MXP3bn in 2018 bonds to strengthen its capital base. Also set for Wednesday is Financiera Independencia, with MXP1bn in 2011 floating-rate bonds via HSBC.
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Scotia Takes Stake in Peruvian Pension Fund
Scotiabank has signed an agreement to acquire a 47.5% stake in the private Peruvian pension fund Profuturo for $33m, the Canadian bank says. Scotiabank will be working in partnership with a group of Profuturo’s existing local shareholders to manage the company, it adds. Founded in 1993, Profuturo is the fourth largest private pension fund in Peru, with 23% of the market’s pension fund customers and a 17% market share of the system’s revenues, Scotia states.
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Caribbean Construction Costs Rising
The cost of obtaining funds to develop large real estate projects in the Caribbean, like hotels, has risen significantly in the past year across various products, according to Tim Lorimer, vp for corporate finance at Scotiabank. One of the drivers for the rising premium is the bigger opportunity cost of deploying cash in such ventures, since today cash can be deployed in lower risk investments with similar returns. For a $150m-$200m greenfield hotel development in the Caribbean, Central America or Mexico, at least two funding options – the term loan B market and mezzanine debt – are no longer available. Twelve months ago, the former was available at rates that hovered around Libor plus 650bp for up to 5 years, while the latter could be raised with coupons of 15% for 36-month construction periods and takeouts of up to 66 months, says Lorimer. Those options are now gone, and while the bank market is still open, the margins there have widened from Libor plus 250bp to the Libor plus 350bp-400bp range for structures with a 2-year construction period and 15 years for amortization. Private equity investors, meanwhile, have also increased their targeted annual returns to 30%-35% from 20%-25%.
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Cooper Tires Buys into Mexico
Ohio-based Cooper Tire & Rubber is taking a 38% stake in a new tire manufacturing facility in Guadalajara, Mexico for $31m. Mexico’s IBSA and Cooperativa Tradoc will be Cooper’s partners on the ground. All three companies will jointly operate the new plant, which will supplement Cooper’s US production and open markets in Mexico, the acquirer says.
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Colombia’s ISA Wins Bid on Peru Project
Colombian energy provider ISA has won a bid for the expansion of the Peruvian electrical system, it says. The company, in partnership with Empresa de Energia de Bogota will invest $52m in to provide electrical connectivity between the towns of Chilca and Zapallal, Peruvian investment authority Proinversion says. ISA expects annual returns of $10m from the project, which ISA will exploit for 30 years under the terms of the bid. ISA already operates several electricity ventures in Colombia.
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Moody’s Upgrades Colombia to Ba1
Moody’s has upgraded Colombia’s credit rating to Ba1 from Ba2, it said. The mark puts it one notch below investment grade, the same point at which S&P and Fitch rate the sovereign. The upgrade reflects “important and likely sustainable structural changes to the country’s economy, reinforcing an investment-driven recovery and a significant improvement in debt ratios,” the agency adds. “The dramatic progress with respect to Colombia’s once-precarious security situation has spurred a sustainable recovery in domestic demand and generated a virtuous cycle that has significantly improved debt dynamics,” it continues. The government’s capital controls and pressure on monetary policies may be greater than in the past, senior analyst Alessandra Alecci tells LatinFinance, but that doesn’t significantly affect the perception of default risk. The upgrade was largely expected, says Credit Suisse economist Carola Sandy, but the challenge of reducing Colombia’s rigid expenditure policy remains. Moody’s adds that the prospects of a move to investment grade are hampered by fiscal and current account deficits, structural fiscal issues such as expenditure inflexibility, and a growing dependence on Venezuela. The agency also raised Colombia’s long-term foreign-currency bond ceiling to Baa3 from Ba1, its short-term foreign-currency bond ceiling to P-3 from not-prime, and its foreign-currency ceiling for deposits to Ba2 from Ba3. The outlook on all ratings is stable.