Category: Regions

Mexico’s Grupo Financiero Banamex, part of Citigroup, Wednesday announced a new organizational structure that sees current Banamex chief executive Manuel Medina Mora become chairman of the boards of Grupo Financiero Banamex and Banamex. Medina Mora is replaced as chief executive by Enrique Zorilla, who is also appointed head of commercial banking – one of the three new banking business heads. Meanwhile, Augusto Escalante becomes head of Banamex Cards and Julio de Quesada becomes head of corporate and investment banking. Oscar Medina Mora is named head of investment management.

Global private equity firm Advent International Wednesday announced it had acquired 100% of Mexican restaurant operator Grupo La Mansión. The company did not disclose any financial details of the deal. So far this year, Advent has made six investments in the region’s retail sector worth $900 million. The firm said it planned to make further acquisitions of restaurant chains in the country to expand the business in the domestic market and “achieve greater economies of scale.”

US mortgage insurance provider Genworth Financial received authorization from Mexico’s ministry of finance Wednesday to set up a mortgage insurance company. Genworth said in a statement that it expects to start writing mortgage insurance directly in the country by the second quarter of 2007, following final approval from regulators. The mortgage insurance business will be set up in Mexico City, said Alejandro Rivero, chief executive of Genworth Financial Mexico. The company already offers automobile, property and casualty, life and personal accident insurance through Genworth Seguros, based in the City of Leon. Mexico drafted and passed new legislation earlier this year to allow mortgage insurance to be sold.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has assigned a Triple A rating to the mortgage-backed notes issued by Mexican Sofol Patrimonio and placed by Banamex. The notes mature November 25, 2033 and pay a fixed interest rate of 4.29%. The RMBS-backed securities, worth $92 million (994 million pesos) and issued in inflation-linked units or UDIs, are the first such instruments issued by Patrimonio, which is planning to issue five times that amount in total. According to S&P, it is the second RMBS issue in the local market to carry a full wrap; the first came from GMAC Financiera in October.

The Mexican state of Veracruz has sold $476 million worth (5.19 billion pesos) of local-currency securities backed by car-ownership tax receivables. The 30-year notes, denominated in local inflation-linked UDIs, pay a spread of 128bp over the 30-year UDI bond. The notes were placed by Vector Casa de Bolsa and Banorte. The issue was almost twice oversubscribed, according to the state finance ministry, with bids received totaling 10 billion pesos.

Mexico’s Cemex is on the road in the US with a dual-tranche senior perpetual bond issue through Barclays and JPMorgan, expected to weigh in at up to $1.5 billion. Investor meetings run through this week and pricing is likely on Monday December 11. The quasi hybrid issue is structured for accounting purposes, though it gets no equity credit, and proceeds are to help fund the acquisition of Australia’s Rinker, which is still being negotiated. There are two pieces, one callable after year five, the other after year 10, and both step up significantly (around 300bp) if not called. The transaction is rated BBB by Fitch and BBB minus by S&P and size is to be decided, though Fitch assumes up to $1.5 billion. The perpetual will be issued through an SPV and guaranteed by Cemex, Cemex Mexico and New Sunward Holding. Rinker has rejected Cemex’s unsolicited $13 billion takeover bid, for which Fitch put its rating on negative watch. Cemex, meanwhile, is at an advanced stage of syndicating a $9 billion loan through its Spanish unit to pay for the deal.