Best M&A house
JPMorgan
Euromoney still can’t make an award for best bank in Argentina. While the banking system in the country at least has a certain amount of liquidity now, that’s about all that can be said for it. All Argentine banks are still insolvent, as the majority of their assets are non-performing. And the liquid banks are paying a steep price for that liquidity – they’re taking in deposits at upwards of 20% interest rates, while making no loans at all. No-one ever made money that way.
There is some speculation about who will be in pole position if and when the new government of Nestor Kirchner finally gets the banking system on its feet. Although the large foreign-owned banks proved no safer a haven than domestic banks when the country imploded at the end of 2001, they do have access to cash that they could put to good use should they see a good chance of making money in the country. Citibank and Santander-owned Banco Río both seem to be in the country for the long haul, while BankBoston and BBVA Banco Frances still have strong franchises in Argentina.
Even as the banking industry struggles, however, M&A activity continues apace. One of the biggest deals of 2002 was the acquisition of Argentine oil company Pérez Companc by Brazil’s Petrobrás. And the Brazilians didn’t stop there; brewer Ambev snapped up Quilmes at the height of Argentina’s woes as well.
One of the more complex deals was the $2.8 billion global simultaneous exchange offer whereby shareholders of various domestic steel companies around the world (including Argentina) were asked to swap their holdings for shares in Tenaris, a company based in Argentina. That deal was orchestrated by JPMorgan, which was also involved on the Argentine side of the Pérez Companc transaction. Those big deals, as well as smaller ones such as the acquisition of gold mining company Cerro Vanguardia by Anglo American, give JPMorgan the best M&A house award.
As for debt house, it remains too early to tell. Lazards has the advisory mandate for the huge and crucially important debt restructuring, but no-one knows when it will be announced, how well it will succeed, or who else will be involved.
