FERRERE’s Asunción team advised Consorcio del Sur, formed by Eurofinsa S.A. and Ingeniería de Topografía y Caminos S.A., to obtain financing for the Costanera Sur project, involving construction of the Avenida Costanera Sur roadway extending nearly eight kilometers in southern Asunción, geared to improving the city’s transportation infrastructure.
The transaction, which closed on August 6, 2021, was for a total of USD 170 million, composed as follows:
- USD 130 million in a private note offering by a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The note buyers are: Itaú, KfW IPEX-Bank and MetLife. The SPV, in turn, will acquire from Consorcio del Sur the Payment Obligation Acknowledgment Certificates (known as CROPs) issued by the Government of the Republic of Paraguay upon termination of project milestones by Consorcio del Sur. CROPs are Republic of Paraguay public debt instruments and are assignable, unconditional, irrevocable and autonomous. This is the first securitization involving Republic of Paraguay securities structured as a private placement of securities under Section 4(a)(2) of the 1933 Securities Act of the United States of America.
- USD 40 million through a revolving line of credit for working capital granted by a group of local banks: Banco Itaú Paraguay SA, Banco Atlas SA, Banco Familiar SAECA, Banco Regional SAECA and Sudameris Bank SAECA. The line of credit is guaranteed by an administration and guaranty trust.
Following the Naranjal and Bioceánico highway projects, this is the third infrastructure project undertaken under Law 5074 on Turnkey Projects in Paraguay.
FERRERE’s work was led by its partner Carlos Vasconsellos, with a team including the practitioners Claudia Arietti, Araceli Coronel, Graciela Benitez, and Guillermo Jover.