Pampa Energia extends exchange offer, improves consideration, coupon of new notes

By Wendy Van Sickle

Columbus, Ohio, July 18 – Argentina’s Pampa Energia SA amended its exchange offer for any and all of the outstanding $500 million 7 3/8% senior notes due July 21, 2023 (Cusips: 71647XAA5, P7873PAE6) issued by Petrobras Argentina SA to increase the consideration offered and the coupon of the new notes being in the exchange, according to a news release on Monday.

The company also announced an extension of the offer deadline.

The company started the offer on June 16 and previously announced that it was extending the early participation deadline through the end of the offer in a press release on Thursday morning. The early participation deadline will continue to run through the end of the offer, which will now be 11:59 p.m. ET on July 29, pushed out from 11:59 p.m. ET on July 20.

Further, the company announced it will increase the coupon of the new notes due 2026 issued in the exchange to 9˝% from 9%.

As of the original early participation deadline at 5 p.m. ET on July 6, the company received tenders for $102,337,000 of the notes, or 20.47% of the principal amount of notes outstanding under option A and approximately $198,661,000, or 60% of the notes, in tenders under option B.

Noteholders can either choose option A or option B when tendering their notes, as previously reported.

Option A

As a recap, noteholders tendering under option A on or prior to the extended early participation deadline will receive a combination of the early A pro-rata cash consideration and the applicable early A new notes consideration.

The pro-rata cash consideration will be an amount equivalent to the lesser of (1) 30% of the aggregate principal amount of old notes validly tendered and accepted for exchange in the entire offer and the principal amount of old notes accepted and (2) the principal amount of old notes accepted for exchange under option A.

The amount of new notes issued, per $1,000 principal amount tendered under option A, will be the difference between $1,020 and the pro-rata cash consideration. This has been changed from the difference between $1,000 and the pro-rata cash consideration.

Option B

Noteholders tendering under option B on or prior to the early participation will receive $1,030 principal amount of new notes per $1,000 principal amount validly tendered and accepted for exchange. This amount has been increased from $1,010 principal amount of new notes per $1,000 principal amount.

Offer details

In all cases, accrued interest will also be paid.

The offer is conditioned upon, among other conditions, a minimum of $350 million notes tendered in the offer.

The withdrawal date was the same as the original early participation date and has passed.

Settlement is expected to be Aug. 8, in compliance with the approval received from the Argentine Central Bank to access the foreign exchange market starting on Aug. 1 for obtaining the U.S. dollars required for the total cash consideration.

D.F. King Ltd. (877 732-3617; 212 269-5550; pampa@dfking.com) is the information and exchange agent for the exchange.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Santander Investment Securities are the joint global coordinators and lead dealer managers for the exchange offer. BNP Paribas Securities Corp., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are joint dealer managers. Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SAU, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Argentina) SAU and Banco Santander Argentina SA are acting as local placement agents.

Pampa Energia is an energy company based in Buenos Aires.

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