Up to US$475 million of debt securities affected
New York, July 15, 2011 -- Moody's Investors Service today assigned a Baa3 rating to the AES Gener
S.A.'s (Gener) planned issuance of up to US$475
million 5.25% 10-year senior unsecured note offering
to be issued under a 144(A) registration. The rating outlook is
stable.
RATINGS RATIONALE
Gener's Baa3 senior unsecured rating reflects its relevance as the second
largest power generation company in Chile and its somewhat geographically
diversified operations. The rating further captures Gener's
adequate liquidity profile which is further enhanced by the extension
of its maturity profile with the completion of the planned debt offering.
The rating acknowledges the upcoming end of Gener's substantial capital
expenditure (capex) program intended to enhance its energy mix following
the challenges posed by the Argentine natural gas curtailments and to
address the country's growing power demand.
"The rating factors in our belief that the completion of this capex
program will support a more balanced commercial policy that focuses on
contracting the output of its efficient fleet which should enhance cash
flow predictability over the medium to long-term" said Natividad
Martel, Moody's Assistant Vice President.
The rating is capped by Moody's concerns about the ongoing pressure from
parent AES Corporation (AES: B1 Corporate Family Rating; positive)
for Gener to provide substantial dividend distributions which when coupled
with some expected increase in consolidated leverage to complete the company's
remaining capex are expected to result in certain key credit metrics being
more weakly positioned at the current low investment grade rating.
That being said, the rating incorporates our expectation that new
investment opportunities to meet the growing power demand in Chile will
be prudently funded to include, if necessary, a reduction
in the near-term dividend payout ratio, currently expected
to be around 100% of net income. To that end, Moody's
rating also assumes that Gener will report CFO pre-W/C to debt
and interest coverage ratio above 20% and 4x, respectively
on a sustainable basis.
Net proceeds from this offering are expected to be used to fund the cash
payments under the concurrent Tender and Exchange Offers announced by
Gener for its outstanding US$400 million 7.50% Notes
due in 2014 (Yankee Bond) and its 8% US$196 million Series
Q due in 2019 issued in the local Chilean market. It is our understanding
that in conjunction with the Tender and Exchange Offer, Gener is
also soliciting consents to amend certain clauses under the current Yankee
Bond indenture should any of those notes remain outstanding after the
expiration of the tender and exchange. Completion of the consent
would eliminate Gener's obligation to comply with substantially
all of the more restrictive covenants contained in that indenture that
applied if Gener's rating would fall below investment grade, and
instead, comply with the terms and conditions of the new senior
unsecured notes. We believe that the removal of these covenants,
while providing the company additional financial flexibility, may
end up being potentially detrimental to bondholders. The final
execution of the tender, exchange and consent requires approval
by a majority of the bond holders.
Gener's stable outlook reflects the expectation that the improved fleet
mix with the scheduled completion of the 270MW Campiche plant scheduled
for early 2013 will enhance cash flow and related cash flow predictability
over the medium term, and that the issuer will further maintain
an adequate liquidity profile. The outlook also incorporates our
expectation that Gener will fund any new generation project it may decide
to pursue in a conservative manner, so that its credit metrics remain
commensurate to the Baa rating category, to include if necessary,
accompanying reductions in distributions to AES.
In light of the continued construction of the Campiche and the prospects
for additional generation capacity in Chile, given the country's
power growth prospects, an upgrade of Gener's ratings over the intermediate
term appears less likely.
Given the importance to the company's commercial strategy and the expected
enhancement to future cash flow, a substantial delay in the completion
of the Campiche facility and/or Angamos' 259MW second unit, could
trigger a negative rating action. Various additional factors could
pressure Gener's rating including, among others, an unexpected
weakening of its consolidated cash flow such that the CFO pre-W/C
to debt and CFO pre-W/C interest coverage falls below, 17%
and 3.5x, respectively, on a sustainable basis.
The principal methodology used in rating Gemer was Global Unregulated
Utilities and Power Companies published in August 2009. Please
see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy
of this methodology .
Headquartered in Santiago, Chile, AES Gener S.A.
(Gener) is an operating and holding company of the second largest generation
group in Chile (in terms of installed capacity (roughly 22% market
share) and the country's largest thermal power generation group.
Gener also has operations in Argentina, via TermoAndes, and
in Colombia, via the 1,000MW hydro-generator AES Chivor
(Chivor; Corporate Family Rating: Ba1; stable).
Gener is a 71% indirect subsidiary of the AES Corporation.
As of March 31, 2011, Gener had consolidated assets totaling
$5.7billion, and recorded last twelve-month
FFO of around US$420 million.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
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New York
Natividad Martel
Asst Vice President - Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
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New York
A.J. Sabatelle
Senior Vice President
Infrastructure Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
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Moody's assigns Baa3 to AES Gener's unsecured note offering; outlook is stable