New bond issue: Salta Province sells USD 185m in 2022 bonds with 9.50% coupon
Salta Province (Argentina) on March 9, 2012 placed USD 185m in hydrocarbon royalty-backed bonds with a 9.50% coupon, maturing in 2022. The bond was priced at 100%. Citigroup, Banco Macro arranged the deal.
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Issuer, issue number: Salta Province, 2022
Type of debt instrument: Eurobonds
Redemption type: Amortized
Issue status: outstanding
Type of placement: public
Par, currency of issue: USD, 150000
Amount: 185 000 000
ISIN: USP8388TAA27
End of placement: Mar 09 2012
Issue price: 100
Yield at Pricing: 9.5%
Coupon: 9.50%
Coupon frequency: 4 time(s) per year
Settlement Date: Mar 16 2012
Maturity date: Sep 16 2022
Issue Managers: Citigroup, Banco Macro
Issuer profile:
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country.
Outstanding issues:
2 issue(s) outstanding worth USD 419 000 000
S&P: Argentina's Province Of Salta Secured Amortizing Notes Assigned Preliminary 'B' Rating
OVERVIEW
•The Province of Salta's (Salta's) note issuance is an Argentine future flow transaction backed by Salta's right to receive 80% of the hydrocarbon royalties due to it under all dedicated concessions. The secured amortizing notes are Salta's direct, general, unconditional, and unsubordinated obligations and will be secured by the underlying collateral (the oil and gas royalties).
•We assigned our preliminary 'B' rating to the notes.
•The preliminary 'B' rating reflects the transaction's solid credit enhancement, the underlying collateral pool's high quality and strength, and Salta's sound fiscal performance, among other factors.
BUENOS AIRES (Standard & Poor's) March 6, 2012--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its preliminary 'B' rating to Argentina's Province of Salta’s (Salta's) up to US$220 million notes due 2022. The notes are collateralized by Salta's right to receive 80% of the hydrocarbon royalties due to it under all dedicated concessions.
This is Salta's second structured transaction secured by oil and gas royalties. The first issuance, Salta Hydrocarbon Royalty Trust, was issued in March 2001; its performance has been strong, even during the Argentine sovereign crisis in 2001-2002. The new issuance will be subordinated to the payment of all amounts due under Salta Hydrocarbon Royalty Trust, which is expected to be cancelled on Dec. 28, 2012.
The secured amortizing notes are Salta's direct, general, unconditional, and unsubordinated obligations and will be secured by the underlying collateral.
The notes will pay a quarterly fixed interest rate to be determined at closing. Interest payments will begin in June 2012 and principal payments will start in December 2013. The final legal maturity will be on March 2022.
The amortizing notes are secured by certain gas and oil royalties that different oil and gas producers pay to Salta. These royalties represent 12% of the oil and gas production value at the wellhead of the dedicated concessionaires in the following areas: Acambuco, Agua Blanca, Aguarag?e, El Vinalar, Palmar Largo, Puesto Guardi?n, Ramos, San Antonio Sur, and Valle Morado. As of Dec. 31, 2011, the dedicated areas accounted for all of Salta's oil and gas production.
The preliminary rating is based on the transaction's characteristics, including:
•The solid credit enhancement protection that includes overcollateralization and a debt service reserve account equal to the next scheduled debt service payment. In addition, extraordinary and trigger event prepayment accounts will exist to cover any liquidity shortfall in case of a prepayment.
•The pool of highly rated private oil producers/concessionaries that support the underlying assets. These entities, which currently pay royalties to Salta, will pay directly to the Argentine onshore trust for the secured amortizing noteholders' benefit. Consequently, the main repayment source for this transaction depends on the evolution and performance of the royalties or the gas and oil production, not on Salta's willingness or capability to pay debt.
•The strength of the underlying collateral (the gas and oil royalties), which will be paid directly to an onshore Argentine trust and held at Banco Macro S.A.
•Salta's sound fiscal performance and financial flexibility. That said, Salta remains materially influenced by the central government's policies because it depends significantly on federal transfers (federal transfers equal 65% of Salta's total revenue).
•The weak business risk profile of Salta's hydrocarbon industry, which reflects a challenging institutional and regulatory environment and its inability to successfully replace its reserves over the past few years mainly due to the decrease in oil and gas companies' investments in the industry. Salta's royalty generation depends on both the production and price of the hydrocarbons it produces, especially natural gas. Even though Salta's production is lower than our original estimates as a result of the aforementioned decrease in investments, crude oil prices are considerably higher (despite export duties) and natural gas prices, which dropped in 2002, are slowly and slightly recovering. These higher prices have partially offset the impact of lower production.