Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (Bladex) has closed a US$102mn, four-year syndicated loan for the Favorita Group, a Ecuadorian agribusiness conglomerate with diversified activities including bananas, dairy, and fertilisers.

Bladex was the sole lead arranger and bookrunner of the facility, also acting as administrative and collateral agent. The loan was launched in June and received support from another 10 banks, six of which are new relations to the company, based in Panama, Central America and the Caribbean: Metrobank, Banco Aliado, St. Georges Bank, Bancaribe Curacao, Global Bank, Banco BHD Leon, Banco Panama, Lafise, Multibank, and Tower Bank. Tickets ranged from US$5mn to US$15mn and Bladex kept US$20mn.

The transaction marks the largest syndicated loan for Favorita and broadens the company’s pool of bank relationships. The financing will be used to improve the company’s debt maturity profile.

Rafael Wong, Favorita’s chairman, comments: “The success of this syndicated loan demonstrates the attractiveness of Favorita’s business model to a wide investor base and reinforces the confidence of our traditional financing partners which continue believing in our company. This facility will allow us to improve our overall financing structure and provide a platform to achieve our business goals over the medium term.”

Vicente Wong, Favorita’s CEO, adds: “This facility allows us to further strengthen our diversified business model and to focus on increasing market share, by offering greater added value to our clients.”