Televisa Fattens up Long Bond

Mexico’s Grupo Televisa has sold $600m in 2040 bonds to become the first Mexican corporate to issue at the long end of the curve this year. The media company upsized from an initially announced $400m on the back of some $1.7bn in demand. The issuer known for its penchant for long-dated debt priced the Baa1/BBB+ deal at 98.319 with a 6.625% coupon to yield 6.755%, or UST plus 245bp. The yield came inside of the UST plus 250bp-area guidance, which followed whispers of 250bp-260bp. Some buysiders say they felt squeezed by the spread tightening. “This priced with very little concession to the curve,” says a New York-based EM investor looking at the transaction. However, the bond tightened 2bp-4bp on the bid side in the aftermarket, according to investors. Proceeds are for general corporate purposes. A banker managing the deal notes the issuer has a comfortable cash position and is taking advantage of opportunistic market conditions. Credit Suisse managed the sale. Televisa was the second pure LatAm corporate to go long this year, following Vale’s $1bn 2039 offer in September. Its previous bonds include a 6% 10-year sold in May 2008, a 30-year Europeso issue done in 2007, a 20-year dollar bond in 2005, and a 30-year dollar bond in 2002, according to Dealogic.