Kevin Simauchi and Maria Elena Vizcaino, Bloomberg News

BUENOS AIRES
EnergiesNet.com 01 05 2024

YPF SA, Argentina’s largest oil producer, is considering a return to global bond markets as it carries out a debt buyback, according to people familiar with the transaction. 

The oil driller was set to start meeting with investors on Friday to gauge appetite for a seven-year bond secured by export revenue, according to the people, who asked for anonymity as the meetings are private. The company mandated Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Santander to arrange the meetings. 

If it follows through with the deal, the junk-rated company plans to offer as much as $1 billion, according to a report in local media outlet EconoJournal citing people it did not name. 

A YPF Spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier on Friday, the state-owned company announced it planned to buy back some bonds to reduce short-term debt. The company said it will pay cash for the $346 million outstanding notes due in April. It’s dangling a premium for investors who tender before an early deadline on Jan. 19.

YPF’s dollar bonds returned 30% last year, the best performance for corporate debt in Latin America after airline Avianca, according to a Bloomberg index. The bonds due in April trade at around 99.5 cents on the dollar, according to indicative pricing compiled by Bloomberg. 

The firm hired Citigroup, JPMorgan, Santander, Banco Santander Argentina and Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires to arrange the bond buyback transaction. The offer expires on Feb. 5. 

All three major credit assessors rate YPF deep into junk. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings assign it a CCC- score, three notches above default. Meantime, Moody’s Investors Service rates the company at Caa3.

–With assistance from Jonathan Gilbert.

bloomberg.com 01 05 2024