Bank of China contributes debt rescheduling — via a maturity period extension — of a €830 million EUR syndicated loan to FUNKE Mediengruppe for unspecified purposes (Linked to Record ID#101479)

Project narrative

In late April 2014, a syndicate of 11 lenders — including the Bank of China (BOC) — signed a €980 million EUR syndicated loan agreement with FUNKE Mediengruppe GmbH & Co. KGaA — a privately-held German media group headquartered in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia that is Germany's third-largest newspaper and magazine publisher — for unspecified purposes. This loan consisted of three tranches: a €730 million EUR tranche with a maturity period of four years, a €150 million EUR term facility tranche with a maturity period of two years, and a €100 million EUR revolving credit facility (RCF) tranche with a maturity period of four years. Record ID#101479 captures BOC's contribution. In addition to BOC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: UniCredit S.p.A., Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB), Commerzbank AG, HSBC Bank, HSH Nordbank AG, Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB), IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Sparkasse Essen, and M. M. Warburg & CO (AG & Co.) KGaA. Then, on April 22, 2016, a syndicate of 11 lenders — including BOC — entered into an amendment-and-extension (amend-and-extend) agreement with Funke Mediengruppe; in this agreement, the €980 million EUR syndicated loan's face value was reduced by €150 million EUR to €830 million EUR, its three tranches adjusted to a €580 million EUR term facility tranche, a €200 million EUR term facility tranche, and a €50 million EUR RCF tranche, all of which had a maturity period of five years. This is, in effect, an extension of three years for the €730 million EUR tranche, albeit reduced by €150 million EUR (a new maturity period of seven years), an extension of five years for the €150 million EUR term facility tranche, with an up-sizing of €50 million EUR (a new maturity period of seven years), and an extension of three years for the €100 million EUR RCF, albeit reduced to €50 million EUR (a new maturity period of seven years). Record ID#101480 captures BOC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. All of the lenders of the original 2014 loan participated in the 2016 amend-and-extend except M.M. Warburg, which was replaced by National-Bank AG as a lender. UniCredit served as bookrunner. BayernLB, Commerzbank, HSBC, HSH Nordbank, and NORD/LB served as mandated lead arrangers. BOC, IKB Deutsche Industriebank, LBBW, National-Bank, and Sparkasse Essen served as participants.