Grupo Imsa Obtains Financing for Ps 960 Million and US$ 70 Million

    MONTERREY, Mexico--July 9, 2003--Grupo Imsa, S.A. de C.V. (BMV:IMSA) announced today that it has successfully obtained a multi-currency syndicated loan of 960 million Mexican pesos and 70 million U.S. dollars. The credit is payable over five years with an 18-month grace period. The part denominated in pesos is payable at an interest rate of TIIE plus 85 basis points, while the dollar-denominated portion bears interest at a rate of 105 basis points over six-month LIBOR for the first three years, with rate increases in the fourth and fifth years.
    Since Grupo Imsa's revenues are closely tied to the U.S. dollar, the Company used a swap to convert the 960 million pesos of the loan to 92.7 million dollars bearing interest at a rate of 110 basis points over six-month LIBOR. The resources obtained from the transaction will mainly be used to pay debt. The loan was structured by BankBoston and ING Capital.
    Marcelo Canales, Grupo Imsa's Chief Financial Officer explained, "This is the first peso-denominated syndicated loan in Grupo Imsa's history and represents a significant advance in our strategy to diversify our financing sources." Mr. Canales added, "We will use the resources from the transaction to prepay more expensive long-term debt and to pay off short-term debt, thus improving both the average life and cost of our debt."
    Grupo IMSA, a holding company, dates back to 1936 and is today one of Mexico's leading diversified industrial companies. It operates in four core businesses: steel processed products; automotive batteries and related products; steel and plastic construction products; and aluminum and other related products. With manufacturing facilities in Mexico, the United States, and throughout Central and South America, Grupo IMSA currently exports to all five continents. In 2002 Grupo IMSA's sales reached US$2.6 billion, of which close to 55% was generated outside Mexico. Grupo IMSA shares trade on the Mexican Stock Exchange (IMSA) and, in the United States, on the NYSE (IMY).