Holland & Knight Advises Bladex in Syndicated Secured Loan to Ecuador’s Favorita Fruit Company

NEW YORK (September 4, 2015) – Holland & Knight advised Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S.A. (Bladex), as sole lead arranger and bookrunner, on a $102 million syndicated secured loan to members of the Favorita Fruit Company Group, an Ecuadorian agricultural producer and exporter. The transaction closed on Sept. 3. Ten additional banks joined the lending syndicate.

The loan was secured by certain of Favorita's real property in Ecuador, as well as by payment flows under export contracts related to sales of products to certain major customers. The loan was made to two borrowers within the Favorita Group, Favorita Trading Co. Ltd. and Fertisa Fertilizantes, Terminales I Servicios, S.A., and was guaranteed by a further two Group companies, Reybanpac, Rey Banano del Pacífico C.A. and Favorita Fruit Co. Ltd.  As a result, the transaction involved three separate jurisdictions, the U.S., Ecuador and the British Virgin Islands.

The Favorita Group will use the proceeds from the loan to repay existing indebtedness. Bladex acted as both administrative agent and collateral agent.

Bladex was represented by Holland & Knight and Noboa, Peña, Larrea & Torres in Ecuador. Holland & Knight's team included New York-based Partner Stephen Double, Associate Carlos Meza and International Law Clerk Juan Carlos Valdivieso.