September 2021 - Astris Finance congratulates its clients APG and Celeo on the strategic acquisition of Colbún Transmisión in Chile through their affiliate Alfa Desarollo. With this acquisition, APG and Celeo jointly have the third largest transmission portfolio in Chile by line length. The acquisition from Colbun SA was completed on September 30, 2021 for a price of US$1,172 M after the settlement of the acquisition financing on September 20, 2021.
Astris served as exclusive financial advisor to APG and Celeo during the competitive acquisition process which started in the fourth quarter of 2020 and culminated in the execution of a share purchase agreement with Colbun on March 30, 2021. Working closely with the legal and other advisors to APG and Celeo, Astris assisted in all aspects of the due diligence and negotiation of the acquisition as well as the financing process.
As part of the financing process, Astris worked to obtain investment grade shadow ratings for Alfa Desarollo as well as a fully committed bridge loan from JP Morgan which was ultimately not drawn. The financing was structured as a project bond in the amount of $1,098 M, rated BBB- by Standard & Poor’s and Baa3 by Moodys which was settled into escrow prior to the acquisition date. The bond which has a 30-year final maturity and a 24-year average life was more than four times oversubscribed at its peak. JP Morgan acted as Global Coordinator and Citibank, Santander and SMBC also served as Joint Bookrunners. The Joint Bookrunners also provided a letter of credit facility recourse to Alfa Desarollo which was structured by Astris as part of the acquisition financing package.
“Astris Finance is honored to have been selected to advise this strong sponsor group in such a competitive process. We are thrilled for APG and Celeo to close this landmark transaction in Chile under such attractive conditions,” commented Tobey Collins, Astris’ Head of Energy for the Americas. Angel Ortega, Celeo´s Chief Investment Officer, said “We are very pleased to expand our presence in Chile with this strategic acquisition and to close our third successful transaction with Astris Finance in Chile in the last five years.”