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Noble Group set to clinch US$3 bil credit facilities

Reuters Published on Tue, May 10, 2016 / 4:42 PM GMT+8

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SINGAPORE (May 10): Noble Group is set to clinch about US$3 billion in bank credit facilities, sources close to the matter said, but it will have to offer the highest interest rate it has ever paid as lenders are wary after its ratings downgrades to junk status.

Obtaining the credit facilities will allow Noble, Asia's biggest commodity trader, to vault the last refinancing hurdle it faces this year and help regain investor confidence following a US$1.2 billion writedown that pushed it last year into its first annual net loss since 1998.

Noble is set to pay an interest of 225 basis points over the US dollar Libor rate on the US$1 billion one-year unsecured loan portion of the deal, more than twice the 85 basis points above Libor it paid just a year ago, said the sources. The latest interest rate will be the highest in Noble's history in Asia.