Metals trading house Gerald Group has refinanced its annual revolving credit facility (RCF), securing US$140mn from a group of banks.

Gerald will use the funding for general corporate and working capital purposes, as well as the refinancing of its maturing syndicated RCF.

Crédit Agricole and Credit Suisse are serving as mandated lead arrangers, with the former also acting as document agent. Arab Bank, Banco do Brasil, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Erste and UniCredit are the other lenders involved in the deal.

The one-year committed, unsecured facility includes a 364-day extension option and a US$200mn accordion feature.

“We are extremely pleased with the refinancing of our committed RCF, hot off the back of our recent, heavily oversubscribed US$450mn North American borrowing base,” says Mital Patel, global head of finance for Gerald Group.

“Gerald’s strong banking pool has demonstrated very positive support across our diverse funding model, and we are experiencing further growth from banks dedicated to battery materials and energy transition sectors who recognise the group’s role as a leading global metals merchant,” Patel adds.

Gerald’s annual RCF has now been running for the past 12 years, with the trader having scored an oversubscribed US$150mn agreement last time around. The year prior, in January 2020, the group secured a total of US$253.5mn from a group of banks, which also included ING and BNP Paribas.

The North American borrowing base facility signed in September saw ING act as lead lender and administrative agent, as well as joint lead arranger alongside HSBC and Rabobank.