Swiss-based commodity trader Mercuria has closed a US$700mn, 18-month borrowing base facility with a syndicate of banks.

ING Bank acted as sole co-ordinator on the facility, while the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ joined as bookrunning mandated lead arranger. Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Rabobank and UBS were mandated lead arrangers.

The facility is Mercuria’s first syndicated uncommitted secured revolving credit facility in Europe. It will be used to finance the company’s working capital needs for its European inventory and receivables, as well as to refinance its existing bilateral credit facilities.

Richard Evrard, global head of trade finance and structured trade finance at Mercuria, says the facility has a complex geographical reach, as it will be used between seven European countries and eight storage locations.

“The new syndicated financial structure is competitively priced and allows Mercuria to anticipate increased volumes at higher market prices. We are next considering enlarging the scope of this borrowing base to additional European countries and new commodities with the support of new lenders,” he adds.