Cemex Looks to Wrap up Loan Talks

Mexican cement maker Cemex will this week look to wrap up negotiations with banks to extend its 2009 and 2010 loan maturities by 12-24 months, say people involved in the process. The talks surround close to $10bn in bank debt and covenants, margins and terms and conditions are all being renegotiated. The talks, which have been going on for a good part of a month between the company and five lead banks – BBVA, Citi, HSBC, RBS and Santander – are aimed giving Cemex breathing room to restructure its operations and balance sheet. Tenors on up to 4 syndicated or club facilities are being extended, while terms on 2 more bilateral loans are also being renegotiated. In 2009 alone, Cemex faces $6bn in maturing bank debt, which accounts for 43% of its total outstanding debt, a person close to the talks told LatinFinance in mid-November. Cemex has recently been downgraded by Fitch to BB+.