Gunvor USA has closed the syndication of its US$1.1bn borrowing base credit facility, which will be used to refinance last year’s facility, provide continued working capital financing for the company’s merchant activities, and fund general corporate purposes.

The facility includes a US$500mn accordion feature, which remains available to support future growth.

It is jointly lead arranged by Rabobank, which will also serve as administrative agent and active bookrunner, and ING Capital, Natixis and Société Générale as joint bookrunners and joint lead arrangers. The syndicate is further supported by a group of 12 additional lenders.

A Gunvor USA spokesperson tells GTR that the new lenders are Citi, Deutsche Bank, MashreqBank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and UBS. They were not able to reveal the full list of participants in the transaction.

The facility is the fourth renewal and expansion of the energy commodity trader’s original borrowing base, which launched in 2016 at US$500mn. The 2018 facility was increased to US$1bn.

As reported by GTR earlier this month, top energy traders have said their access to financing from financial institutions remains strong, despite bank nervousness following a string of fraud scandals in Singapore’s commodities sector.

“Gunvor USA continues to enjoy strong and steady support from our banking partners as we effectively navigate the challenging market environment,” says Chris Morran, CFO of Gunvor USA. “We are pleased to have attracted five new lenders to our facility, along with a substantial amount of oversubscription, which reflects the confidence in our business and strategy as Gunvor expands further into the North American market.”

Houston-headquartered Gunvor USA is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Gunvor Group, one of the world’s largest independent energy commodity traders.

Gunvor Group recently signed an oversubscribed revolving credit facility worth US$1.23bn to replace maturing debt tranches. The company says it now maintains about US$17bn in financing lines, down from US$20bn a year ago.