Chilean Toll Roads May Yield Over $300m

The equity portion of a concession to operate two toll roads in Chile – the Santiago-Los Vilos road and Carretera Itata – could go for more than $300m, according to a banker close to the process. Mexican development bank Nafinsa is overseeing the process, and has hired BNP Paribas as its financial adviser. The reason for Nafinsa’s involvement is that the road was originally built by Tribasa, a Mexican concessions and building company, with a loan from Bancomext, which eventually took over the concession following a series of defaults. The project has accumulated up to $460m in debt and the auction will be for the equity portion of the concession. Deal documentation will be distributed by mid-October, with a final deadline for the sale slated for March 2008.