Fertinal Rebuffs Sale Chatter

Mexican fertilizer company Fertinal rejects rumors suggesting that it is for sale. “We’d have to be very stupid to be thinking about selling things now,” a senior company official tells LatinFinance. “Everything is worth 50% of what was worth a year ago,” adds the source, who asks not to be identified. He blames a general downturn in valuations and dampened appetite to spend. Instead, claims the executive, Fertinal is considering what it describes as offers by potential lenders, though the he would not disclose what type of institution the company had talked to. The private company, which the executive claims should be worth $2bn-$5bn, raised an undisclosed amount of debt a year ago to reignite operations after having lain dormant for 7 years. Fertinal, which engaged UBS last summer to advise on strategic options, says it is interested in terming out this debt to some 7.0 years and with a commercial lending base, from around 4.5 years today. The executive would not disclose the source of funding, but suggested it was done on a bilateral basis. Any new debt would have to be at a minimum tenor of 5 years. Bankers away from the company say it was rumored to be seeking a sale for up to $5bn. Fertinal specializes in phosphate-based fertilizers. It apparently picked UBS for its knowledge of petrochemicals and the fertilizer industry.