AES Gener Tests Power PF Market

Angamos, a special purpose company wholly owned by AES Gener, is in the market with a $1.06bn 17.5-year project financing that sets a benchmark for Chilean borrowers. The senior secured facility, launched Tuesday, includes a 3.5-year construction period and is divided into three tranches: a $715 Korean Export Insurance Corp (KEIC) tranche at Libor plus 90bp, a $270m commercial tranche with a margin stepping-up from 135bp to 190bp over the 17.5-year time span, and a $75m 5-year letter of credit tranche, say bankers familiar with the terms. The KEIC tranche includes coverage of 95% of the company’s sales revenues for the time period. Proceeds are being used to finance the construction of two pulverized coal-fired power plants whose combined output will total 462MW. Gener also has power purchase agreements with two BHP Billiton subsidiaries for the life of the operation. ABN AMRO – soon to become RBS – and BNP Paribas are leading.