BBVA, Santander, BofA want to back Mexico’s $6 billion power deal – Bloomberg News

(Reuters) – Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Banco Santander SA and Bank of America Corp together plan to fund Mexico’s $6 billion deal to purchase power plants from Spain’s Iberdrola, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday citing people familiar with the talks.

The three lenders are among a consortium looking to finance the deal, the report said, with local banks such as Grupo Financiero Banorte and billionaire Carlos Slim’s Grupo Financiero Inbursa also interested.

Talks are still at an early stage, the report added.

Earlier this week, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the deal to buy 13 power plants from Iberdrola is saving the country money amid an energy dispute with the United States and Canada under a regional trade pact.

The Bank of America declined to comment on the report, while Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Banco Santander SA and Iberdrola did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)