Forum Narrows Options, Preps Pricing

Chilean auto lender Forum is expected to issue a 22bn peso ($42.9m) bond today, say people familiar with the deal. The company had delayed its issue into the new year in anticipation of lower spreads and market improvement. The borrower can choose from four series, but pre-sounding has investors congregating mostly around the 2.5-year bullet in pesos with a 6.15% coupon. CEO Raul Aronsohn previously told LatinFinance that he favored a peso issue. “If we go to UF we have to swap them against pesos after that, so we prefer to go straight ahead to pesos,” he said. Banco Estado de Chile is managing the issue, rated AA+/AA minus on a national scale.