Unatrac extends, re-prices $700m syndicated loan
Dubai, June 30, 2014
Unatrac Holding, a leading Caterpillar dealer, has amended, extended and re-priced a $700 million syndicated revolving credit facility originally signed in June last year.
Barclays Bank and Citi acted as joint co-ordinators on the transaction, which saw Dubai-headquartered Unatrac leverage its strong financial and operational performance over the past 12 months to capitalise on improved bank market conditions with a two-year extension of the tenor and a significant reduction in margin.
The facility, originally concluded for a three-year term, now extends to June 2018 from the original June 2016 maturity date, while its margin has fallen by over 30 per cent (125 bps per annum) as pricing has been lowered to 2.75 per cent per annum over the London interbank offered rate (Libor).
The transaction was supported by Unatrac’s bank group and raised significant appetite from both existing and new lenders.
Loutfy M Mansour, group CEO, said: “The company’s solid performance, steady and robust growth and capable management team — alongside the strength and commitment of Mansour Group, our sponsor — are key factors behind the success acknowledged by the lender group.”
Nader Aboushadi, executive director and group corporate treasurer at Unatrac, said: “As was the case last year, the transaction was substantially oversubscribed, with all banks from the original 2013 facility committing alongside interest from new participants.
“This transaction stands as a testament not just to our operational and financial performances in the past year, but to the strength of the relationships we have with our banking partners.”
The mandated lead arrangers were Barclays Bank, Citi, JP Morgan, Caterpillar Financial Services (Dubai), Commercial International Bank (Egypt), HSBC Bank Middle East, Mashreqbank, Qatar National Bank Group (acting through Commercial Bank International and QNB Al Ahli Bank), and the Standard Bank of South Africa.
The lead arrangers were First Gulf Bank and Standard Chartered Bank
The arrangers were Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Ahli United and National Bank of Abu Dhabi. - TradeArabia News Service
