Adani Group to refinance Abbot Point Terminal in Australia
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deutsche Bank and Westpac have been appointed as joint lead managers for A$1.25 billion of debt issuance which will help refinance Adani Abbot Point Terminal.
Proceeds will be used to pay down A$1.14 billion of debt which was used to fund the A$1.8 billion acquisition of the 99-year lease attached to the Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Queensland n May 2011.
Commonwealth Bank and Westpac have subscribed to a A$500 million bank loan facility, while investors will be tapped for the $750 million issue of five year medium-term notes. Pricing of the notes is yet to be determined, but sources have said they will be offered at a premium to 200 basis points above the benchmark five-year interest rate swap, which is currently 3.785 %.
The Abbot Point Coal Terminal is Australia's most northerly coal port, and has annual capacity of 50 million tons. Its customers include BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Glencore Xstrata.
Moody's Investors Services gave the debt an investment grade rating of Baa3, while Standard & Poor's gave an investment grade rating of BBB-.
Debt will be guaranteed by Mundra Port Holdings Trust, which, like Adani Abbot Point Terminal, is a subsidiary of the India's Adani Group. The Adani family is headed by Gautam Adani, who has a net worth of US$3.1 billion.
