Puerto Rico reaches deal to restructure $3B of power debt
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO -- Puerto Rico's government reached a deal Monday night with a bondholder group to restructure more than a third of the debt owed by its troubled power company as the utility moves toward privatization.
A federal control board overseeing the U.S. territory's finances called it an "important milestone" and promised the deal would not hit Puerto Ricans with rate increases to cover debt service if there was a drop in power usage.
Officials said bondholders that hold more than $3 billion in debt from Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority would exchange it for two new bonds. One would be exchanged at 67.5 cents on the dollar, while the other would be exchanged at 10 cents on the dollar and would be linked to Puerto Rico's economic recovery.
"That is absolutely huge," economist Vicente Feliciano told The Associated Press.
Read more: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article215816320.html