Bogotá, June 2023 - Astris Finance (“Astris”) is pleased to announce that the Via 40 Express toll road project in Colombia reached financial close in Q2 2023: this is the second largest financing ever completed in Colombia in the toll road sector, and marks a successful milestone in our 10-year long relationship with VINCI Highways and Conconcreto in Colombia. In tightening liquidity conditions, the financing of Via 40 Express rests on an innovative cross-currency tranche which speaks to our firm’s ability to design innovative financing products for our clients’ most challenging endeavors.
Via 40 Express is a 142 km brownfield 4G Private Initiative toll road concession project in Colombia. The sponsors of the Project are VINCI Highways and Conconcreto (collectively, the “Sponsors”) with a participation of 75% and 25% respectively. Via 40 Express is one of the principal corridors in the country being the main road leading from Bogotá to the southwest of the country, eventually connecting with the port of Buenaventura. The project is subject to 100% traffic risk, with no availability payments and/or traffic support from the Government.
Astris has been working on the Project since the bid stage process (2016). In February 2021 Astris closed a non-recourse Bridge Loan for Via 40 Express, and this transaction successfully refinanced the Bridge Loan and provided sufficient funding to finalize construction of the Project.
During the financing process, which dealt with challenging circumstances including the Odebrecht scandals in Colombia, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent inflationary/interest rate environment, Astris, the Sponsors and Via 40 Express explored all possible financing options, including international capital markets under rule 144A, multilaterals, local banks, local debt funds and international commercial banks. The final financing structure included a total non-recourse financing package of COP 2,602 million (USD 575 million) split as follows:
short term financing: COP 827 million (USD 183 million) COP denominated 5-year revolving facility with an innovative borrowing base structure to finance trapped toll road income during construction period (this facility was partially funded by international lenders using a synthetic COP structure);
long term financing: COP 1,775 million (USD 392 million) financed with local commercial banks, FDN and local debt funds with 12, 15 and 20 years tenors respectively.
This project marks a very important closing for VINCI Highways, being its first long term transaction in Colombia and one of the biggest toll road financings in the country. Closing was completed just after VINCI Highways completed the purchase of a 25% stake in the SPV from Conconcreto and a 100% stake in the EPC.
Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor to Via 40 Express. So far this year, Astris has reached financial close on 4 financing and M&A transactions in Colombia.