MEXICO CITY, June 17, 2016 (GLOBE
NEWSWIRE) -- Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de
C.V. (BMV:ICA) (NYSE:ICA) announced today that
it signed a secured convertible loan agreement for a total
principal amount of US$215 million and a three-year term of
maturity, through its subsidiaries Controladora de Operaciones de
Infraestructura, S.A. de C.V. ("CONOISA") and ICA Promoción e
Infraestructura, S.A.P.I. ("ICAPI", and together with CONOISA, the
"Borrowers"), with Fintech Europe S.A.RL. ("Fintech"), as lender,
and ICA acting as guarantor. The loan may be disbursed in two
tranches of US$54 million and US$161 million subject to the
satisfaction of certain conditions precedent. The net
proceeds of the loan to ICA (after deducting fees and commissions)
are expected to be approximately US$50.2 million and US$149.7
million, respectively, for each tranche.
The loan bears PIK interest at a
rate of 16%, accruing and capitalizing monthly. The loan will be
secured by pledges of ICA's shares of its subsidiaries, Servicios
de Tecnología Aeroportuaria, S.A. de C.V. ("SETA"), holder of
control shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de
C.V.; Desarrollo, Diseño, Infraestructura y Operación, S.A.P.I. de
C.V. ("DDIO"), holder of prison infrastructure projects; Covimsa,
S.A. de C.V. ("Covimsa"), holder of the Apaseo - Palmillas
concession, as well as shares of other entities within ICA's
engineering and construction segment and a pledge of 100% of the
shares of ICAPI and CONOISA, the holding company for all of ICA's
concessions. The loan is convertible, at the option of
Fintech, into up to 32.02% of the shares of CONOISA and of ICAPI,
or is payable in kind into up to 53.45% of the shares of Covimsa
owned by CONOISA, 53.45% of the shares of SETA owned by CONOISA,
49.9% of the shares of DDIO owned by CONOISA, as well as shares of
other entities within ICA's engineering and construction segment,
subject to certain conditions precedent.
The proceeds will be used to fund
working capital and other investments required for the company to
participate in new construction and future infrastructure
projects.
This press
release contains projections or other forward-looking statements
related to ICA that reflect ICA's current expectations or beliefs
concerning future events. Forward-looking statements involve
inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of
important factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions
expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include
cancellations of significant construction projects included in
backlog, material changes in the performance or terms of our
concessions, additional costs incurred in projects under
construction, failure to comply with covenants contained in our
debt agreements, developments in legal proceedings, unanticipated
increases in financing and other costs or the inability to obtain
additional debt or equity financing on attractive terms, changes to
our liquidity, economic and political conditions and government
policies in Mexico or elsewhere, changes in capital markets in
general that may affect policies or attitudes towards lending to
Mexico or Mexican companies, changes in inflation rates, exchange
rates, regulatory developments, customer demand, competition and
tax and other laws affecting ICA's businesses and other factors set
forth in ICA's most recent filing on Form 20-F and in any filing or
submission ICA has made with the SEC subsequent to its most recent
filing on Form 20-F. All forward-looking statements are based on
information available to ICA on the date hereof, and ICA assumes no
obligation to update such statements.
Empresas
ICA, S.A.B. de C.V., carries out large-scale civil and industrial
construction projects and operates a portfolio of long-term assets,
including airports, toll roads, water systems, and real estate.
Founded in 1947, ICA is listed on the Mexican and New York Stock
exchanges. For more
information, visit http://ir.ica.mx/.