China’s State Grid Seeks $2 Billion Loan for Chilean Acquisition

(Bloomberg) -- State Grid Corp. of China is in talks with banks for a loan of about $2 billion to back its acquisition of the Chilean electricity distribution assets of Sempra Energy, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Beijing-based company is in initial talks with banks for a loan with tenors of one year and two years, said the people who aren’t authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. The company didn’t immediately reply to a fax seeking comment.

Companies in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan are actively borrowing for acquisitions, helping volumes so far this year rebound to the highest level since 2016, according to Bloomberg data. China Yangtze Power Co. is in talks with banks for a one-year club of up to $4 billion to support its acquisition of Sempra Energy’s Peruvian businesses.

State Grid’s $2.3 billion acquisition, which includes Sempra’s Chilean businesses like Chilquinta Energía SA, Tecnored SA and a 50% interest in Eletrans SA, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

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