Trafigura has closed US$4.4bn in syndicated revolving credit and term loan facilities, up from US$3.4bn a year ago.
The Singapore-headquartered commodity trader said the package was “substantially oversubscribed” and larger than the initial US$3.5bn-equivalent launch amount. A total of 40 financial institutions took part, down from 43 on last year’s deal.
The facilities comprise a 365-day US$1.1bn revolving credit facility (RCF), a one-year offshore renminbi term loan worth US$1.6bn-equivalent, a three-year US$1.5bn term loan and a five-year US$200mn RCF.
The five-year tranche mirrors one added to Trafigura’s European RCF in March, when the trader also agreed a US$3bn contingent facility as a liquidity buffer amid commodity price volatility.
Trafigura said the new facilities will refinance a maturing three-year term loan tranche from 2023 and maturing one-year US dollar and renminbi tranches from 2025. They will also be used for general corporate purposes.
Stephan Jansma, Trafigura’s group chief financial officer, said the company had secured about US$950mn in additional liquidity, mostly in the three-year and five-year tranches. The equivalent refinancing last year secured close to US$800mn in additional liquidity.
By comparison, last year’s package included a US$1.1bn renminbi loan, a US$1.2bn three-year term loan and a US$1.1bn RCF, with no five-year tranche.
“The introduction of a five-year tranche is part of our strategy to rebalance our funding profile towards longer-term maturities,” Jansma said.
“We syndicated this transaction in a complex geopolitical and volatile environment. Its success underscores the confidence lenders have in the strength of our balance sheet and financial performance, and ensures we are well positioned to support our customers across all market conditions.”
He added that the company was grateful for “continued strong support from lenders across Asia and the Middle East, with strong participation from Chinese banks”.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, BBVA, Bank of Communications, China Bohai Bank, China Citic Bank, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, DBS, Development Bank of Japan, First Abu Dhabi Bank, ICBC, OCBC and Standard Chartered were mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners (MLAB).
BBVA, DBS, OCBC and Standard Chartered were active MLABs. OCBC also acted as global coordinator, a role Standard Chartered held last year.
The Export-Import Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank were MLABs on the renminbi syndication.
Last year’s facilities were structured as sustainability-linked loans, but GTR reported in April that Trafigura had since stopped tying pricing to sustainability targets on its flagship European, Asian and Japanese RCFs. The latest announcement made no reference to sustainability-linked pricing.
