Buenos Aires City, Santa Fe Province weigh bond sales before midterms

Buenos Aires City and Santa Fe Province are weighing international bond sales in the narrow window between Sunday’s provincial election in Buenos Aires Province and the October midterms.

Buenos Aires is considering selling as much as US$600 million abroad, with up to US$400 million in new debt and the rest in an exchange offer targeted at retail holders to stretch out maturities, the people said. The proceeds would largely go to refinancing, as officials prepare for a US$300-million payment coming due in June 2026.

Authorities believe that if President Javier Milei’s administration does well in this weekend’s provincial elections, it would create a small window between then and the midterm vote to tap markets. To be sure, the La Libertad Avanza leader's party is not expected to win the Buenos Aires Province vote, but losing by a narrow range could send a positive signal ahead of the national legislative elections in October, in which around half of the seats in Congress are at play.

Buenos Aires City is still in the monitoring phase, working alongside arranging banks JPMorgan Chase & Co, Banco Santander SA, Bank of America Corp and Deutsche Bank AG, one of the people said. City officials, who travelled to New York last December to test appetite, now plan to conduct a virtual roadshow. In the meantime, yields are rising.

The City is is looking to issue a five- to seven-year bond, the people said.

Santa Fe, meanwhile, is preparing a separate sale of up to US$800 million in the same post-vote window, two people said. The province aims to raise US$500 million, while the rest will be used for a tender offer. The plan, however, is on hold pending approval from the federal government, which was requested two months ago. Santander and JPMorgan were tapped as bookrunners.

“Talks with the national government continue on good terms and they are still waiting for an issuance week to be defined,” the province’s press office said in a written response to questions.

The federal government, JPMorgan and Bank of America didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Deutsche Bank and Santander declined to comment.

Santa Fe faces hefty repayments on its 2027 bond, with three annual installments starting in November of US$83 million each. Officials see market access in the coming weeks as critical to easing that burden. The province is planning to sell a five-year maturity bond, the people added.

For now, both the city and the province are watching election results closely, with final decisions hinging on investor sentiment in the weeks ahead.