Deals of the YEar awards
When evaluating options for refinancing the Rumichaca-Pasto 4G road concession in Colombia, Spanish construction group Sacyr went for boldness.
The company plumped for a hybrid approach that mixed loans from banks in both dollars and pesos with the issuance of a 144-S bond to entice capital markets investors to back the deal. It was a novel structure for a road refinancing package in Colombia.
Not only that, the company wanted the bond to be labelled as a social bond, another exceptional feature for a transaction in the country.
The whole package, which wins the award for Financing Innovation of the Year, was worth $800 million and was well received by investors and bankers alike.
“We opted for this structure because it is a project that has revenues in two different currencies,” says Rodrigo Jiménez-Alfaro, CFO of Sacyr Concesiones.
The value of the loans was $278 million, while the social bond came in at $262 million, the largest of its kind issued by a Colombian entity.
Jiménez-Alfaro says that the structure helped attract a diverse group of investors. For example, institutional investors felt more comfortable participating because the bond was rated by two different agencies, he says. The 19-year bond was also linked to an inflation index to mitigate currency risk. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan acted as structurers and bookrunners, while IDB Invest was the anchor investor, nabbing $135 million of the bonds.
Sacyr’s CFO believes that the transaction could be a model for other road financings in the region. The hybrid structure was adequate as the project was 90% completed at the time and therefore construction risks was less of a factor to be considered by investors.
The company has plans to continue tapping markets in the future, Jiménez-Alfaro adds. “It is part of our strategy to maximize the financing of our projects by seeking efficient and sustainable financial models for our assets,” he says. “For that reason, we will likely go back to the bond and private placement markets.” LF
Joint Global Coordinators, Joint Bookrunners: Goldman Sachs; J.P. Morgan
Lenders: MUFG; SMBC; Societe Generale; Credit Agricole CIB; Siemens Financial Services; FDN; Bancolombia; Banco Davivienda; Unión para la Infraestructura (UPLI); IDB
Legal Advisors: Clifford Chance; Holland & Knight Colombia; Latham & Watkins; Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría; Posse Herrera Ruiz; Baker McKenzie; Allen & Overy
All supporting financial institutions and law firms were transmitted to LatinFinance by the award category winners. For updates please email awards@latinfinance.com