Argentina 2020 Airports creditors approve bond swap
(Bloomberg) - The creditors of Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 SA gave overwhelming approval to a bond swap offer, which could be a preliminary indicator of how willing investors will be to support Argentina's corporate debt restructurings.
AA2000, one of the world's largest private airport operators, said in a statement that investors who held nearly $ 341 million of their bonds maturing in 2027 agreed to an exchange offer in which they will receive new notes with a payment structure. modified, approximately 85% of the original principal amount.
The offer was ahead of what could be a wave of debt restructuring in Argentina, as several companies have bond maturities in 2021. The government is currently negotiating with creditors to restructure $ 65 billion of sovereign debt, talks that surely will also they will have an effect on corporate negotiations.
In all emerging markets, defaults by speculative-grade companies could rise to 13.7% in March 2021, a rate that has not been seen in more than a decade, Moody's Investors Service wrote in a report Thursday, arguing to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to particularly strict blocks to contain the virus and its limited access to capital markets, "the case of Argentina is more complex" than that of other countries, said Lorena Reich, analyst at Lucror Analytics. The number of restructurings "will depend on the result of the sovereign restructuring. This particularly applies to smaller, riskier loans. ”
The number of proposed restructurings so far has been limited. Real estate developer Raghsa SA extended until May 6 its offer to exchange notes due in 2021 for new bonds due in 2024.
AA2000, a subsidiary of Corporación América Airports SA, operates airports throughout Argentina and has seen its source of revenue evaporate as the country canceled air travel until September 1, one of the strictest travel bans in Latin America. Under his offer, some interest payments would be deferred, known as payments in kind, while planned principal payments would be made on a new delayed schedule, according to a statement.
Bonds maturing in 2027 were trading at around 63 cents on the dollar on Monday, down from 97 cents earlier in the year, according to Trace bond trading data.
Offer expires May 18 at 11:59 pm New York time.
Original Note: Airport Creditors Back Swap in First Test for Argentine Firms
By Newsroom Infobae