Comerci Reaches Deal with Domestic Creditors

Controladora Comercial Mexicana has reached a debt restructuring agreement with domestic bondholders. It will exchange 5 series of its existing bonds on a 1-for-1 basis with new 7-year floating-rate notes paying interest at the TIIE rate. The new debt will be issued in “as soon as possible,” the retailer says, without providing the total value of the new bonds. While seen as a positive step by the markets, the transaction represents only a small piece of the $1bn-$2bn in liabilities Comerci is seeking to restructure, after defaulting last year when it racked up more than $2bn in derivative losses. It says it continues to negotiate with other groups involved in the restructuring process, which includes foreign creditors and derivative counterparties.