NII retapped its existing 7.625% 2021 bonds for $700m, upsizing from an original $500m size. The US-based operator of LatAm wireless assets, reopened the bonds at 98.50 to yield 7.852% or UST+600bp, in line with 98.50-area guidance. Order books came in excess of $1.4bn from a predominantly high yield focused audience. Proceeds are for general corporate purposes. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan led the B2/B+ transaction, done through the NII Capital unit. In the original transaction priced in March, NII issued $750m of the bonds to yield 7.625%, through Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. NII is a provider of fully-integrated mobile communication services in Latin America.
Category: United States
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BPZ Set for Lima Listing
BPZ Resources, the US-based E&P company operating in Peru and Ecuador, has been approved to list on the Lima Stock exchange. The timing remains to be determined. BPZ does not announce any new equity capital to be raised in Peru.
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Marfrig Preps Sale of QSR Assets
The Martin-Brower Company is offering to pay $400m to acquire Brazilian food company Marfrig’s quick service restaurants (QSR), logistics assets and other business from its subsidiary Keystone Foods. By divesting these assets, Marfrig and Keystone hope to focus on their core protein businesses. The company says that it will keep its position in the recently announced joint venture with Cofco as it looks to develop its logistics business in China. “Our distribution business is world class,” Larry S. McWilliams, CEO of Keystone Foods, said in a statement. “However, we feel that by strategically focusing our resources on our proteins business, we will be able to add greater value to our customers in the QSR market.” The sale is still subject to regulatory approvals and due diligence.
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Standard Chartered Closes LatAm Sov Desk
Standard Chartered has closed its LatAm sovereign and CDS trading business, citing decreased trading volume. According to a Standard Chartered spokesperson, the closure is specific to the sovereign and CDS products, and does not reflect a withdrawal from DCM or LatAm.
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Acon Buys Grupo Sala in Colombia
US PE firm Acon Investments has acquired an 81% stake in Grupo Sala from Spanish waste company Urbaser through its $250m Acon Latin America Opportunities fund (ALAOF) for an undisclosed amount. Sala has 650,000 municipal waste management customers throughout Colombia and turnover of approximately $80m, Acon partner Jose Miguel Knoell tells LatinFinance. Acon is also injecting additional capital to help grow Sala’s medical and industrial waste business unit, he says. Acon plans to build the business through organic growth and potential bolt-on acquisitions in both the domestic and adjacent markets, potentially including various Colombian water utilities. A sale to a strategic buyer is the most likely exit option for the firm as several pan-regional waste management firms in Brazil and Mexico are looking to grow. There is also potential interest from US and European specialized waste management companies. No advisors were retained on the deal. Approximately 40% of Acon’s $2bn in AUM is in LatAm.
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OneLink Takes Out Loans
Puerto Rico’s San Juan Cable (OneLink), a cable television provider, will take out a $25m revolver due May 2016, a $345m term loan due May 2017, and a $150m term loan due May 2018, according to a Moody’s release. The company would not comment on pricing or say which banks are providing the loans. The loans will be used together with cash on hand to repay the company’s existing debt and to fund an approximately $25m distribution to its equity holders.
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Battle for CapGold Rages On
Canadian miner Timmins Gold has raised its offer for US-based Capital Gold. Both operate in Mexico. Under the increased offer, CapGold shareholders will now receive a total of $5.89 per each of their shares, or a total of $371m. Timmins says the new offer “exceeds the value of the Gammon offer by 8.7%, per CapGold share, based on closing prices on March 14.” In October, Gammon, also based in Canada, offered to acquire CapGold for $288m or $4.57 per share. CapGold has turned Timmins away 4 times. Timmins is now backed by Canada’s Sprott Asset Management, which holds about 13% of CapGold and has voted against Gammon’s offer. Sprott’s stake represents the largest single voting block. A unit of Sprott, Sprott Resource Lending Partnership, has agreed to provide Timmins Gold with a CAD15m credit line and a CAD5m working capital facility. Availability under the credit line and working capital facility is not contingent on completion of the merger of Timmins Gold and Capital Gold, Sprott says. Gammon’s financial advisors are Dundee Securities and UBS, while CapGold’s is Comark Securities. New York’s Innisfree M&A is advising Timmins.
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Owens Corning Sells Brazil Plant
A Chinese unit of US-based building materials maker Owens Corning has sold Brazilian glass fabrics plant Capivari Fibras do Vidrio for $60m in cash to Shanghai-listed fertilizer and chemical manufacturer, Yunnan Yuntianhua. Equities analysts who cover Owens Corning say the deal is not material. “This is not a significant deal and will have no impact on investors,” says one analyst. Jim Barrett, an analyst with NY-based shop CL King and Associates, agrees. “This was an expected divestiture. It was required as part of Owens Corning’s 2007 acquisition of French building products manufacturer St. Gobain,” he says. The company does not say if there were financial advisors on the sale.
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Alsis Plans CCD Fund
US-based investment firm Alsis is planning to raise between $100m-$150m equivalent from Mexican pension funds. The CCD fund will invest in affordable housing in Mexico, says managing partner David Sanchez-Tembleque. He expects the funds to be raised by the end of April. BBVA Bancomer is handling the transaction. Alsis is also fundraising for a parallel fund, called the Mexico Opportunities Fund, targeting US-based institutional investors. It has already has already closed the first round with almost $38m in commitments from Calpers and OPIC. Sanchez-Tembleque expects to increase that amount to about $50m in the next 18 months. He explains that this is a mezzanine fund that will invest an average of $3m-$6m per project. “We invest in affordable housing developments with 1,000 to 2,500 units where homes are priced between $20,000-$50,000,” he says. The managing partner says that although Alsis will focus on Mexico for the next 2 years, it is also eyeing markets such as Colombia and Brazil to invest in affordable housing. Alsis has about $150m in AUM, and is focused on the Mexico market.
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Coniexpress Buy Seen Positive for Heinz
US-based ketchup maker HJ Heinz’s announcement that it is acquiring an 80% stake in Brazilian peer Coniexpress for a rumored $700m is seen as a positive strategic move by equities analysts who cover the buyer. Coniexpress is the maker of the Quero brand of tomato sauces, ketchup, paste and condiments and holds the top 1 or 2 positions in numerous tomato-based categories in Brazil and the leading position in vegetables, according to Heinz. “I think Coniexpress is a strategic fit with Heinz’s core categories and brings the opportunity to expand Heinz’s brands in Brazil as well as introducing the Quero brand to international retailers like Walmart and Carrefour,” says a New York-based equities analyst. Regarding the price Heinz is said to be paying, another New York-based analyst says that if the rumors are correct, then Heinz should be paying about 18x Ebitda for the target. “Heinz is likely paying a premium given the expected growth in Brazil’s consumer demand,” the analyst says. Heinz, which was advised by JPMorgan, expects to close the transaction in the next few months.