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Nordea, DnB, ING Arrange $3 billion Facility for BW Group
Jumbo loans have officially returned with the announcement by BW Group that it has executed a 5-year $3 billion facility with a consortium of 11 banks, which committed a total sum of $5 billion against BW Group’s $3 billion requirement. Nordea, DnB and ING acted as bookrunners of the facility, and they were joined as mandated lead arrangers and underwriters by Svenska Handelsbanken, Swedbank, HSH Nordbank, Danske Bank, Fortis Singapore, OCBC, Deutsche Bank and HSBC.
Surveying the Credit Markets
Marine Money has concluded the collection of data for its 2008 shipping banker survey and would like to sincerely thank all who have participated. We are currently concluding work on our annual shipping portfolio league table and would like to thank the following banks for their cooperation and contribution to the development of a transparent and well-informed ship finance industry: Bank of Ireland, Bank of Scotland, Bremer Landesbank, Calyon, Commerzbank, Danish Ship Finance, Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Schiffsbank, DnB NOR, Dresdner Bank, DVB, Helaba, HSH Nordbank, HVB, JP Morgan, KfW, Lloyds TSB, Natixis, Nordea and RBS. If you don’t see your bank’s name on the list, think it belongs there, and haven’t been in touch with us this weekend, please send an email to nhuvane@marinemoney.com ASAP to ensure you are included. Both survey and portfolio data will be released in the upcoming May issue of Marine Money.
Sentiment Turns
In a welcome turn of events, the market was resoundingly upbeat this week. The pace of transactions picked up notably across sectors, and we can’t help but view this as a positive sign for the financing market going forward.
On the M&A front Excel and Quintana successfully closed their merger. Each issued and outstanding share of Quintana common stock was converted into the right to receive $13.00 in cash and 0.3979 Excel Class A common shares. The merger creates a combined company that operates a fleet of 47 vessels with a total carrying capacity of approximately 3.7 million DWT and an average age of approximately eight years. Stamatis Molaris stepped into the role of CEO of the combined company, while Hans Mende, Corbin Robertson III and Paul Cornell joined its board of directors. We were happy to hear that the deal was executed smoothly. Moreover, Nordea and the underwriting team were successful in syndicating the debt levels required to make the deal possible – without needing to bring market flex provisions into play.
Banking on the Future
It’s starting as a trickle, but banks are again developing the comfort level to close new deals and owners are becoming accustomed to the necessary changes in pricing, terms and covenants. HSH Nordbank, our 2007 winner for Greatest Contribution to Ship Finance, has since the fall been fielding accusations that it had stopped its ship lending. Countering such concerns, HSH announced this week two loans it has closed for Greek shipping companies, both of which were arranged in 2008 – and so are not unfinished business from before the credit crunch.
The Official Guide To Marine Finance Providers
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