Following months of speculation, Colombia’s second-largest retail chain Carulla Vivero – controlled by US investment fund Newbridge Andean Partners – has finally selected a strategic partner. Much to the surprise of the market, Carulla has agreed to sell a 19.8% stake to its rival, the number one local chain Almacenes Éxito, controlled by Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño, for $110.5 million. Several weeks ago Carulla Vivero mandated Credit Suisse to search for a strategic partner for it. The most likely buyer was thought to be international and names put forward included French retailer Carrefour, Chilean retailers Ripley, Cencosud and Falabella and even US behemoth Wal-Mart.
Category: Regions
Posted inDaily Brief
Bancoldex Sells $42 Million Local Bonds
Colombia’s state-controlled Bancoldex has raised $42 million via the sale of local-currency notes. The bank sold the bonds at a yield of 8.29% with a 31-month maturity. The notes are the third tranche of a larger debt issue, totaling $420 million. The company is still due to issue $211 million of the debt paper, which will be sold before the end of this year or next. The notes are rated AAA by Duff & Phelps Colombia. Bancoldex is a mixed economy public limited company, attached to the ministry of foreign trade.
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Ertach To Go To Telmex
Argentine holding company Sociedad Comercial del Plata has agreed to sell Ertach, its wireless solutions company, to Mexican telco Telmex for $22.5 million. The Argentine group has signed a letter of intent with Telmex, setting a period of 120 days to negotiate terms of the sale. Ertach was set up six years ago and was operating under the name Millicom Argentina until last June. Holding company Sociedad Comercial del Plata is controlled by the local Soldatti family and has interests in the oil and gas industry, entertainment, transport and real estate sectors.
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Desc-CIE Wins US Auto Contract
Desc-CIE, a joint venture between Mexican conglomerate Desc and Spain’s CIE has won a contract worth $360 million to supply US auto company DaimlerChrysler. Desc-CIE will provide painting and trimming for pick-up boxes starting 2008 and will build a plant in Derramadero, in the northern state of Coahuila near the DaimlerChrysler truck assembly plant, to carry out the work. The new plant will bring around 200 new jobs to the area, according to the JV company.
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Swissport Consortium Secures Peru Airport Concessions
GBH-Swissport Aeropuertos, a consortium led by Spanish-owned Swissport, has won the concession to operate 12 of Peru’s regional airports with a commitment to invest at least $115 million and possibly up to $220 million. The 25-year concession has the option to be extended up to 60 years. Swissport was the only bidder remaining following the withdrawal of Colombian group Aeropuertos Unidos. Swissport is the world’s largest airport ground and cargo handling service provider, with a presence in 180 airports worldwide. GBH Investments is a local infrastructure group.
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Aeroméxico Buyback Pushes Up Share Price
Mexican airline group Aeroméxico’s announcement of a share buyback to reduce its share capital and distribute $125 million to its shareholders pushed up the company’s share price over 15% during trading Friday. The money used to fund the buyback will come from the sale last December of its airline Mexicana de Aviación, which raised $165.5 million. Meanwhile, the government, which owns a majority stake in Aeroméxico, has indicated that it may postpone until next year the privatization of the airline, citing market conditions and a lack of interested investors.
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Colombia Pushes Up Benchmark Rate
Colombia’s Central Bank Friday raised its benchmark interest rate to 6.75% on the back of higher-than-expected July inflation. The 25 basis points increase in the overnight lending rate was in line with market expectations. Annual inflation through July rose to a six-month high of 4.32% fueled by higher consumer spending.
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Campaigning Opens In Nicaragua
Campaigning has officially opened in Nicaragua ahead of presidential elections on November 5. Left-wing Sandanista leader, Daniel Ortega, former president (1985-1990) and one-time bête noire of the US, is one of the front-runners. His main rivals are the right-wing candidates: former vice-president José Rizo of the ruling Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC) and e- finance minister Eduardo Montealegre of the Liberal Nicaraguan Alliance-Conservative party (ALN). This will be the fifth time Ortega has run for president, losing his bids in 1990, 1996 and 2001. However, this time around his more friendly overtones to the private sector may well secure him the presidency. To avoid a second round of voting, the winning candidate must secure 40% of the votes or 35% and a clear five-point margin over the nearest rival.
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HPH Offers $468 Million Investment For Ecuador Megaport
Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Port Holdings (HPH), the world’s largest port operator, has offered to invest $468 million in a bid for the 30-year operating concession of Ecuador’s Manta port, on the country’s Pacific coast. The plan is to transform the cargo port into a mega, deep-water container port to serve as a gateway to South America for the increasing trade between Asia and the Continent. HPH was the only bidder for the concession which the government is due to decide on at the beginning of September.
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Argos Takes Advantage
Cementos Argos, Colombia’s largest cement producer, has sold $105.8 million worth of commercial paper in the domestic market. The amount of paper issued was raised from $60 million in the face of strong demand from local investors. Argos sold 180-day and 12-month paper with rates equal to the benchmark DTF plus 1.24% and 1.42% respectively. The company decided to take advantage of the current high liquidity in the market combined with low interest rates to raise funds to pay down part of its expensive short-term debt. The debt was accrued following acquisitions over the past 18 months. Argos, which controls around 51% of the domestic cement market, is a subsidiary of Colombia’s largest conglomerate, Medellín-based GEA.