14 Sep 2011 - With the purpose of assuring its financial stability in the medium and long term, Grupo Lamosa subscribed today an amendment to its credit contracts related to the debt derived from the acquisition of Porcelanite. The main objectives of the agreement were to refinance the total debt to a longer term, to diminish the US Dollar-denominated debt exposure, and to reach significant savings in the interest expense payments. The operation was led by Scotia Capital and Inbursa, and it refinanced the syndicated credit for an equivalent amount of $450 million US Dollars, to a term of 6 years and with an average maturity of 4.4 years. The transaction included an applicable-margin grid between 150 and 350 base points, according with the leverage ratio of the Company. It is important to mention that regarding the subordinate debt of $225 million US Dollars, an amount of $70 million dollars was prepaid from the syndicated credit, which will allow the company annual savings of $3.1 million US Dollars for financial expenses. The outstanding balance of the subordinate debt of $155 million US Dollars was refinanced to a term of 7 years, with a single-payment at maturity in the year 2018. The agreement obtained the approval from most of the financial creditors, who mainly considered the financial improvement and operating capacity of the Company, the competitive positioning reached with the acquisition of Porcelanite and the favorable relationship that Grupo Lamosa maintains with them.
Grupo Lamosa SAB de CV is a Mexico-based company engaged, through its subsidiaries, in the construction and real estate sectors. The Companyâs activities are structured into four business areas, namely Tiles and Flooring, Adhesives and Waterproofing, Sanitary Ware and Real Estate Development. The Tiles and Flooring area offers such brand names, as Porcelanite, Lamosa, Italica and Firenze Tecnoarte. The Adhesives and Waterproofing area operates through the Companies Crest, Perdura, Niasa and Solutek. The Sanitary Ware area operates through the Sanitarios Lamosa company. The Companyâs real estate operations include the acquisition, development and promotion of residential and non-residential properties. It operates through Ceramica San Lorenzo.