AES Gener Places 10-Year USD Locally

Chilean generator AES Gener has sold $183m in 10-year dollar-denominated bonds on the domestic market. The 8.00% coupon notes priced at 96.76 to yield 8.50% and Celfin managed the transaction, rated A on a national scale. Gener will use proceeds to finance expansion and development of its commercial operations. The sale follows S&P’s revision Tuesday of the outlook on Gener’s BBB minus global rating to negative from stable. The agency says it is concerned about the generator’s increasing leverage – possibly to 3.5x debt to Ebitda this year, from 3.2x – used to finance intensive capex.