Bank of China contributes to a syndicated loan to facilitate QIC Global Infrastructure Fund's acquisition of Sea Swift

Project narrative

In or around 2019, the Bank of China (BOC) and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) entered into a syndicated loan agreement with QIC Global Infrastructure Fund — a fund managed by Queensland Government-owned QIC Limited — to facilitate its acquisition of Australian marine logistics provider Sea Swift Pty Ltd. In September 2019, QIC entered into a sale and purchase agreement on behalf of QIC Global Infrastructure Fund with the existing owners, led by private equity firms CHAMP Ventures and HarbourVest Partners and including Toll Holdings, to acquire 100% of the shares of Sea Swift from for less than $300 million AUD. Sea Swift is a privately-owned marine transport and logistics business headquartered in Cairns, Queensland. Sea Swift is northern Australia's sole end-to-end marine logistics provider, delivering food, fuel, medical supplies, building materials, and other goods through Queensland and Northern Territory. It provides logistics services to over 5,000 customers in northern Australia including remote coastal and island communities. It has depots in Darwin, Gove, and Groote Eylandt in Northern Territory and Cairns, Weipa, Seisia, Horn Island, Badu Island, and Thursday Island in Queensland. Its services including cargo freight services, project and charter boats, mothershipping services, and tourism. It had about $30 million AUD in annual earnings. The acquisition was completed in 2019.