• Brazil Tower Company (BTC) and Puerto Caacupe-mí are the projects that have integrated this product into their financing structure
• The relationship with BTC dates back to 2018 and Puerto Caacupe-mí to 2016.
• CIFI reaffirms its confidence in both projects.
March 2023, CIFI ratifies its confidence in two important clients, BTC and Caacupe-mí, by granting both companies mezzanine debts. A mezzanine debt is a product that falls between senior debt and equity. It is classified as a type of debt, not an equity investment. CIFI affirms its financing offering with different levels of risk appetite.
BTC’s operating solid fundamentals, such as significant tower development and growth, resilient current cash flow, solid customer base, and good management, allowed CIFI to finance US$10 MM of Mezzanine debt. BTC is a U.S. holding company whose operating companies are based in Brazil with headquarters in Recife. BTC provides tower infrastructure to cell phone companies, with more than 1,000 towers in Brazil. The project is essential to increase the connectivity of the beneficiary communities.
Ramón Candia, CIFI’s Chief Investment Officer, commented that the BTC Mezzanine loan demonstrates that CIFI continues innovating and supporting infrastructure growth throughout the region with various products and sectors. This financing allowed CIFI to continue supporting the development of a long-standing client and, in turn, allowed local investment funds to enter the industry for the first time through a local bond.
On the other hand, the long history of Puerto Caacupe-mí, the strategic location of its ports, and the alliance with the MSC shipping group were considered as main strengths in this stage of construction of its new terminal. With Caacupe-mí/Villeta, Puerto Caacupe-mí will be the only port conglomerate that will be geographically located in the three premium zones of container port operations in Paraguay, which are: Asunción, Villeta and Pilar, offering clients the Caacupe-mí level of service and quality, and with the possibility of choosing their Caacupe-mí port based on their preference, or geographic convenience.
Janet Sanchez, CIFI’s Risk Director, indicated that the loan to Caacupe-mí allows us to continue supporting an existing client in the development, construction, and entry into operation of a new port in Paraguay through the structuring of a mezzanine loan with the participation of Canadian and European investment funds, and CIFI.
About CIFI
CIFI is the most experienced non-bank financial institution in infrastructure and energy financing in Latin America and the Caribbean. Created in 2001, it has analyzed more than 600 projects, participated in more than 200 transactions worth more than US$1.8 billion, and mobilized more than US$20 billion in capital. CIFI has become a significant player in the trend toward sustainable infrastructure projects in Latin America and the region’s overall economic development.
www.cifi.com
About BTC
Founded in 2011, Brazil Tower Company (BTC) works with the development of infrastructure solutions for telecommunications. They are present in more than 500 Brazilian municipalities. In addition to renting space in transmission and wireless towers, they offer infrastructure solutions for mobile and fixed networks. They believe in the transforming power of connectivity, working with a focus on results, agility, and quality. Whenever necessary, basing their constructions on high aesthetic standards and increasingly practical solutions. Brazil is the largest telecommunications market in Latin America, making an investment in mobile network development increasingly favorable.
braziltowercompany.com.br
About Puerto Caacupe-mí
Since 1980, Puerto Caacupe-mí has pioneered private ports for vehicles, containers, and general cargo in Paraguay.
It has ports in the cities of Asunción and Pilar, and soon it will also be present in the town of Villeta, with the construction of its third port called Caacupe-mí / Villeta.
Puerto Caacupe-mí is the only port company with a presence in Paraguay’s three main container logistics points, where each of its ports operates 365 days a year and is equipped with the highest international port standards in terms of technology, security, and infrastructure.
The main objective of Puerto Caacupe-mí is to become a regional HUB for the commercialization and redistribution of cargo, which will significantly benefit the realization of industrial, commercial, and service businesses for Paraguay and the region. For this reason, it continues with a strategic investment plan to further develop its network of ports. https://www.caa.com.py/
