Brazil

Brazilian meatpacker Marfrig used cash to buy back $72m of senior notes from October 9 last year to February 18 this year, focussing on its lowest coupon, lowest dollar price bond, the company revealed on Monday.

Short term option implied volatility for the Brazilian real rose to more than 23%, the highest level in some weeks, as the country prepares for the possibility of a presidential impeachment vote by April 17.

Three large Brazilian real denominated MTNs issued by Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) indicate that Brazilian investors are making a tax play, according to bankers.

Brazilian pulp producer Eldorado Brasil Celulose is plotting a potential debut cross-border bond that investors believe could receive a decent reception — if the company waits long enough to issue.

Brazilian low-cost airline Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes said on Monday it had hired PJT Partners to advise it on its capital structure and liquidity, immediately provoking words of warning from Standard & Poor’s.

A continued rally in Brazilian bonds is giving DCM bankers in São Paulo some hope that issuance from the country may be on its way — although it will not be a flurry and volatility looks set to remain high for some time.

Raizen Energia, the Brazilian sugar and energy producer, will buy back nearly $200m of debt after bondholders gave a solid response to a tender offer.

The timing of Brazil’s return to bond markets last week was looking better by the day this week as the controversy surrounding the appointment and then suspension of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Dilma Rousseff’s cabinet brought volatility back to the curve.

Another blow to credibility in Brazil sent the sovereign’s bonds tumbling on Tuesday after former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva looked set to accept a ministerial position in Brazil’s government just a week after prosecutors requested his arrest as part of a corruption investigation.

Brazil’s emphatic return to international bond markets on Thursday was likely designed to encourage its non-sovereign issuers to the market, said Lat Am bond bankers, although some questioned whether these deals would materialise.

Votorantim Cimentos, the cement making arm of Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim SA, will buy back just €120m of its euro denominated bonds after most bondholders rejected the terms of a proposed tender offer. The company was hoping to buy back €350m.

The arrest of former Brazilian president Lula da Silva gave new urgency to a strong rally in Brazilian bonds on Friday after the market appeared to take the detention as a sign that president Dilma Rousseff was closer to impeachment.