Argentina

Argentina’s largest province notches 98% approval for its bond exchange, meaning new 2037 issue will surpass $5bn

Provinces of Buenos Aires and La Rioja secure creditor approval but limited impact on sovereign outlook

Sovereign’s bonds enjoy second consecutive day of gains as finance minister seeks to ‘redefine’ IMF debt

Power company tightens covenants, promises additional new notes

With the bond market monitoring Argentina’s progress in negotiating a deal with the IMF, the country’s economy ministry has promoted from within to replace its outgoing finance secretary.

Power company Genneia has become the latest Argentine company to look to refinance bonds with an exchange considered distressed by rating agencies, as capital controls in the country limit corporate issuers’ access to hard currency. Unusually, the distressed exchange will result in the issuance of green bonds.

The Province of Buenos Aires reached a debt restructuring agreement with some but not all of its bondholders last week, leaving observers pondering what was left to resolve a stalemate that has already lasted 15 months.

A group of bondholders seeking to block a consent solicitation from Argentine utility Edenor could grow in number amid the lack of engagement between the company and its creditors, sources close to the situation told GlobalCapital.

A group of bondholders has hired lawyers in an effort to block a proposed consent solicitation from Argentine utility Edenor that seeks to free the issuer of its obligation to repurchase its bonds after a change of control provision in the indenture was triggered.

The Argentine province of Chaco wrapped up a debt restructuring on Thursday after more than 90% of its bondholders agreed to push out the maturity and reduce the coupon of its $250m 2024s. But the Province of Buenos Aires continued to frustrate bondholders, who said negotiations have stalled more than a year after the country’s largest regional government defaulted.

Analysts said that Argentina’s deal to postpone $2bn of debt owed to the Paris Club was a credit positive, though it was not enough to halt another recent fall in the sovereign’s bond prices as the medium-term likelihood of a default remains high.

Argentine dairy company Mastellone Hermanos will push ahead with a distressed debt exchange after holders of an additional $3m of its 2021 bonds agreed to participate in the swap since last week’s early-bird deadline. The extra participation means the minimum take-up threshold for the offer has been reached.