GAP refinances US$95.5m loan backing Jamaica, Mexico airport operations

The Pacific Airport Group (GAP), the Mexican airport operator that manages two of Jamaica’s international airports, has refinanced a “US$95.5 million bank loan” that matured on March 19, rolling the debt into a new short-term facility with the same lender, BBVA México.

“The new loan has a six-month term, with the option to extend for an additional six months, with interest payable monthly at a variable rate equivalent to Secured Overnight Financing Rate plus 40 basis points,” stated GAP in its filings.

It also includes a structuring fee of 10 basis points and, if the extension option is exercised, an additional fee of 10 basis points.

“The principal will be paid at maturity,” it added.

The refinancing is a routine liability-management exercise, replacing an existing obligation on a like-for-like basis rather than raising fresh capital.

GAP manages 12 airports in Mexico and two in Jamaica. These include Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, held through its majority stake in MBJ Airports Limited, and Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, for which it secured a concession in October 2018 and assumed operational control a year later.

In February 2006, GAP’s shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PAC and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GAP.

business@gleanerjm.com