In a move that surprised some observers of Argentina, exporter Nidera Argentina pulled a US$20 million receivables transaction from the domestic market. The deal would have marked the return of ING Barings as an ABS arranger since before the crisis blew. The bank was the sole placement agent and had structured the deal jointly with Capital Trusts. The exporter was heard to be dissatisfied with the offers it received at the June 17 auction for the paper, rated A1.ar' on the national scale by Moody's Latin America.
Nidera was aiming for a rate of 6.5% or below, while the average bid stood at 7.65%. "The company can get financing cheaper than that," said a source close to the deal, adding that Nidera was effectively testing the market .
As the unit of an established European company, the company saw its credit lines only briefly shut down during the worst of the Argentine economic crisis, a source said. Its target yield was quite ambitious given that recent export deals carrying the same rating have priced at 5.98% at their tightest and those transactions were significantly shorter-dated than Nidera's three-year final legal maturity. In addition, rates have crept up over the last month and a half.
Nidera Argentina exports US$600 million to US$800 million annually.
Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.thomsonmedia.com http://www.asreport.com
