Newland International Properties, the builder of the Trump Ocean Club in Panama, plans to sell $220m in 2014 NC3 144a/Reg S senior secured project notes. A US and London road show begins today in Miami, with expected pricing November 8. The Trump Ocean Club is a resort being constructed on the Punta Pacifica Peninsula in Panama City. Proceeds will fund an escrow account with the entire amount necessary to construct the project, a reserve account covering six months of debt service and refinance a $15m loan. The 5.5-year average life deal is rated Ba3 by Moody’s and led by Bear Stearns. “The company has an experienced management team with decades of collective real estate development and construction experience,” says Philip Kibel, Moody’s analyst. “The pace and nature of pre-sales is a positive credit characteristic,” he adds. The debt also has adequate collateral, according to Moody’s. The other resort deal in the market, a $110m private placement for Metro Country Club in the Dominican Republic, is heard struggling. It consists of a $75m senior secured notes issue due 2013 and a $35m subordinated PIK issue due 2014. Price indications are heard in the 12.00% area and 13.50% area for the deal, which carries a B minus from Fitch on the senior tranche. Stephens is the underwriter.
Category: Regions
Best Bank – Jamaica
National Commercial Bank (NCB) has steadily grown its lending portfolio to become Jamaica’s largest financial institution by assets in a market with some heavy foreign hitters. It has maintained an […]
Best Bank – Trinidad & Tobago
Solid economic growth has fueled retail and investment banking activity in the rapidly consolidating Caribbean region. Through a clever mix of solid management and diverse business offerings, the Royal Bank […]
Best Multilateral
The IFC is mobilizing finance to the long overlooked private sector second tier in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has ramped up lending and equity commitments and hopes to […]
Best Bank – Peru
Banco de Crédito del Peru (BCP) is the most formidable retail bank in the country, thanks to a systematic charge for Peru’s underbanked population over the past years using a […]
Fitch Raises Ecuador Outlook
Fitch has affirmed Ecuador’s CCC rating with a stale outlook after removing the credit from watch negative, to reflect a perceived reduction in the risk of a distressed debt exchange in the near term. “The government’s manageable financial position provides a sufficient counterbalance to Ecuador’s key credit weakness, which is its willingness to pay,” says Theresa Paiz Fredel, senior director for sovereigns at Fitch. Oil-related trust accounts, which reached $1.2bn at end-August, bolster the financial position as these assets have been used to fund capital expenditures and debt buybacks in the past. However, Fitch says that financing spending with oil trusts is not sustainable and further increases vulnerability to fluctuations in the oil market. “Venezuela remains a potential “lender of last resort” and could replicate the Bono del Sur mechanism to provide financial resources to Ecuador,” adds Fitch. Official reserves are seen ending 2007 at $3.3bn, more than covering 2008 public external debt service of $1.4bn. “External bond debt service of $450m amounts to about 1.1% of estimated gross domestic product (GDP) and total central government financing requirements are estimated at about 4.9% of GDP in 2008, low when compared to other speculative grade sovereigns,” says Fitch.
From Old Bottles to Asia
International expansion is not confined to huge monopolists in the bigger markets. Peru’s Ajegroup proves that size isn’t everything.
Aluprint Wraps up Loan
Aluprint, the Mexican packaging company, has closed a $135m 7-year dual currency loan. The borrower and its joint bookrunners GE Capital and Rabobank gave lenders the option to lend in pesos or dollars and close to $55m worth of the total came in local currency. Out of the box, the loan pays 375bp over Libor or TIIE, on a leverage grid. MLAs include peso lenders Banamex, Banorte and Bancomer, as well as Bladex. Unicredit, Allied Irish Bank and Invex came in with retail tickets.
Best Bank – Guatemala
There were 24 Guatemalan banks as of mid-2007, down from 34 in 2000, and the sector is ripe for further consolidation to achieve economies of scale, modernization, new products, and […]
Best Bank – Central America
With a $1.77 billion all-cash purchase of Panama’s Banistmo in September 2006, HSBC entered Central America after more than two years searching for a target. One of the world’s strongest […]