Aval Raises $1bn

Colombia’s Grupo Aval has become the latest LatAm borrower to cash in on strong investor appetite, particularly for Andean names, with a well-bid trade clinching a price far inside of initial talk. The group drew around $8bn in orders for the $1bn 2022 bond. The holdco for banks including Banco de Bogota priced at 99.607 with a 4.750% coupon to yield 4.800%, inside of 4.850%-5.000% guidance that was brought in from 5.125%-area talk. The bonds were trading up 0.50 points late Wednesday afternoon, according to investors. The tightening from announcement to launch took a lot off the table, but investors still found some pickup to the closest comparables. “This is not coming cheap, but is not terribly expensive,” says a participating European EM investor. He notes a “decent” pickup to Grupo Sura’s 2021 bond, trading to yield 4.4% Wednesday morning and likely the closest comp. Investors also note the trade coming wide to Aval’s existing 2017 bonds on an interpolated basis, and that the issuer is one of the stronger credits in Colombia. Some 400 accounts were heard participating in the transaction. Aval is raising funds to support investments and for general corporate purposes. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Corficolombiana managed the sale, rated Baa3/BBB minus. Aval’s 2017 bond was sold in January raising $600m in its international market debut.