Puerto Rico's power authority PREPA has reached a deal with its lenders to restructure $700 million in matured debt, a significant step in turning around the utility after it clinched a deal with bondholders earlier in September, Reuters reported yesterday. Finding a solution for PREPA has been seen as a critical test for the U.S. territory, weighed down by a $72 billion debt, as it tries to reach agreement on a broader restructuring of its borrowings. PREPA said that the deal was reached with its fuel-line lenders — a syndicate of Puerto Rican banks and asset manager Solus. They are being given the option to either convert existing credit to term loans with a fixed interest rate of 5.75 percent over 6 years, or to exchange their principal for new securitization bonds.
