LatinFinance - May/June 2014 - 4

NEWS
LOANS/PEOPLE

A surge in interest in syndicated loans - on both borrower
and lender sides - has driven a rush of transactions, many of
which were increased in size. By Karen Schwartz

Going large

4 L ATINFINA NCE.COM - May/June 2014

million from $100 million
in response to interest from
banks.
Pacific Rubiales increased
the size of its four-year
revolving credit facility to $1
billion from $800 million, with
20 banks, including the leads,
participating. The Torontolisted, Colombian oil producer
allocated the deal in April,
turning to dollar funding to
match its balance sheet.
Cerro Verde allocated a
five-year term loan, with 22
banks including the leads
participating in the upsized
deal. Raised to $1.8 billion from
$1.5 billion, it is using the funds
to support a $4 billion mine
expansion in Peru.
Banco do Brasil in March
funded its $1 billion loan, which
had a $700 million three-year
tranche and a $300 million
four-year tranche. Asian banks
piled on as participants for
the transaction - 21 banks,
including the leads - were
involved.
Bladex upsized a $150
million, 3.5-year syndicated
loan to $250 million, with
especially strong interest
coming from Asian banks
following a roadshow in Asia
ahead of the deal. Fifteen
banks, including leads, took
part in the deal for the Panamabased supranational lender.
They included Europeans,
who are said to be increasingly
looking for deals after
retreating during the worst of
the region's economic crisis.
Source: Rutlo

Latin American companies
were not the only ones
interested in the syndicated
loan market in March and
April: a number of deals grew
due to strong interest from
lenders.
"Many banks are looking
toward LatAm with lots of
liquidity," said one banker,
adding that increasing
numbers of lenders were
joining the bank lists on
transactions.
Others, however, stressed
the market was still cautious.
"My impression is that the
market is very liquid, but it's
more selective than it was last
year," said another market
player. "But when you have a
good name and a good story to
tell, you can get funding at very
attractive levels."
Banks and energy
companies were among those
that took advantage of the
conditions. Brazil's Raízen,
a joint venture between
Cosan and Royal Dutch Shell
that produces sugar and
ethanol, increased its fiveyear unsecured loan to $600
million from $500 million. The
funds are heard to be used for
capex and to refinance debt.
Fourteen banks, including
leads, participated.
Another Brazilian biofuel
producer, Usina de Açúcar
Santa Terezinha closed a fiveyear pre-export facility, which
was also bigger than expected.
Ten banks participated in
the deal, which grew to $180

New roles

After President Michelle
Bachelet took power in Chile,
she tapped Alberto Arenas
as finance minister, and
Bernardita Piedrabuena
was appointed the country's
international financing and
capital markets coordinator.
Blackrock nabbed HSBC's
global head of EM research,
Pablo Goldberg, to become
portfolio manager and senior
strategist for EM debt. He is
the first in Sergio Trigo Paz's
emerging markets fixed
income team to be based in
the US, signaling the asset
manager's drive to build up its
Americas operations and links
with US-based clients.
Renê Sanda, chief
investment officer at Brazil's
largest pension fund Previ
retired at the end of March.
Sanda, who started his
career at Banco do Brasil,
had been at Previ since 2010.
A replacement is yet to be
appointed.
José Antonio Guzmán,
chairman of the AFP Habitat,
the second largest pension
manager in Chile, resigned.
Brazilian boutique
BR Partners lost its chief
financial officer for
investment products, Renato

For daily updates on
the loan market, visit:
latinfinance.com

Naigeborin, who will become
head of equity trading for Latin
America at HSBC in São Paulo.
Retailer Via Varejo
appointed Líbano Barroso as
chief executive, after Francisco
Valim resigned in April having
spent less than a year in the
role. Barroso became a board
member in February, and was
last year appointed vice-chief
of strategic development at
Grupo Pão de Açúcar.
Rodrigo Valdés Pulido,
who had been chief economist
at BTG Pactual for over a year,
was named BancoEstado
chairman.
Jorge Errázuriz stepped
down as chairman of BTG
Pactual Chile Corredores
de Bolsa, ahead of becoming
board director of a new lending
institution, Banco BTG Pactual
Chile.
Maximiliano Vial, a BTG
Pactual Chile Corredores de
Bolsa board member since
2009, will take over Errazuriz's
post as chairman. José
Antonio Labbé resigned as
chief executive of BTG Pactual
Chile Corredores de Bolsa,
and will be replaced by Jorge
Pacheco, who was chief of
operations at BTG Pactual
Chile. LF

LatinFinance's Daily Brief provides full
coverage of loans and people moves as
they happen. See latinfinance.com for
complete details
http://www.latinfinance.com http://www.latinfinance.com http://www.LATINFINANCE.COM
LatinFinance - May/June 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LatinFinance - May/June 2014
