Bladex Leads Successful Syndication of a $105 Million 5-year Senior, Secured Acquisition Finance Facility for Central American Banking Group - Grupo Promerica

Latin America - español

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Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex)

Jun 11, 2014, 08:00 ET

PANAMA CITY, June 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. ("Bladex" or the "Bank"; NYSE: BLX) announced the recent closing of a US$105 million 5-year senior, secured, amortizing Acquisition Finance Facility (the "Facility" or the "Loan") in favor of Panamanian-based Promerica Financial Corporation ("PFC"). PFC is the holding company of Grupo Promerica, a group of 9 banks with operations in Central America, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Cayman Islands, with combined assets reaching US$10 billion, as of May 31, 2014.

Bladex acted as a Joint Lead Arranger and Bookrunner. The Bank is also the Administrative Agent and the Collateral Agent under the Facility.

The transaction was 1.8x oversubscribed, attracting the interest of several financial institutions based in Panama and Brazil.

Alejandro Jaramillo, Head of Loan Structuring & Distribution at Bladex, stated: "The success of this transaction continues to demonstrate Bladex's strong origination, structuring and distribution capabilities in the Latin American syndicated loan market, as well as the Bank's commitment to support its clients in securing financing to foster the growth of their business activities. We are very pleased to support a group like Promerica in expanding its footprint throughout Latin America."

Proceeds were used to finance the acquisition of a controlling stake in Banco de la Produccion S.A. ("Produbanco"), the third largest private bank in Ecuador in terms of assets and gross loans. The acquisition will lead to the creation of the second largest private bank in Ecuador in terms of assets, gross loans and deposits.

The Facility included a robust security package as well as other structural enhancements that solidified the transaction.

The syndication process comprised a two-stage strategy, with a Joint Lead Arranger and Bookrunner syndication closed in mid-December and a concurrent general syndication closed in early January.

Francisco Martinez, Managing Director of Grupo Promerica, stated: "We are extremely pleased with the support and commitment that Bladex and its great team of executives have provided Grupo Promerica and are very impressed with their execution capabilities particularly in this important transaction. Bladex is a first-class institution."

Bladex is a supranational bank established by the central banks of Latin-American and Caribbean countries, to promote foreign trade finance and economic integration in the Region. Bladex is listed on the NYSE-Euronext in the United States (ticker symbol: BLX). In 2014, Bladex is celebrating the 35^th anniversary of commencement of operations.

Bladex's shareholders include central banks, state-owned entities and commercial banks from 23 Latin America countries, as well as international banks and institutional and retail investors through its public listing.

The Bank, headquartered in Panama, has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States of America, to support the expansion and servicing of its client base, which includes financial institutions and corporations.

For further information, please access Bladex's website on the Internet at www.bladex.com or contact:

Bladex, Head Office, Torre V, Business Park, Avenida La Rotonda, Urb. Costa del Este,
Panama, Republic of Panama
Mr. Christopher Schech, Chief Financial Officer
Tel.: (507) 210-8630, E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex)