Bank of China (London Branch) contributes to debt rescheduling of a $1.57 billion USD syndicated revolving credit facility to Traxys for refinancing and working capital purposes

Project narrative

On May 4, 2021, a syndicate of 26 lenders across 28 lenders — including the Bank of China Limited (BOC) — signed a $1,330,200,000 USD syndicated multi-currency revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Traxys S.à.r.l. — a Luxembourg-incorporated and headquartered physical commodity trader and merchant of metals and natural resources privately owned by Traxys' management team, The Carlyle Group, and affiliates of Louis M. Bacon, the founder of Moore Capital Management, LP. and Moore Strategic Ventures, LLC, Bacon's privately held investment company — for refinancing and working capital purposes. This loan consisted of four tranches: a borrowing base tranche with a maturity period of one year; a committed secured borrowing base tranche with a maturity period of three years; a uncommitted borrowing base tranche with a maturity period of one year; and a committed unsecured tranche with a maturity period of one year. Each tranche had a one-year extension option and the RCF had a $250 million USD accordion feature. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance its 2020 $1.29 billion USD RCF and for its working capital needs. Record ID #103606 captures BOC's contribution. Then, on May 2, 2022, a syndicate of 24 banks across 27 lenders — including the London and Geneva Branches of BOC — entered into a $1,570,000,000 USD syndicated multi-currency RCF agreement with Traxys S.à.r.l. for refinancing and working capital purposes. This loan consisted of four tranches: a committed secured borrowing base tranche with a maturity period of three years; a committed borrowing base tranche with a maturity period of one year; a uncommitted borrowing base tranche with a maturity period of one year; and a committed unsecured tranche with a maturity period of one year. Each tranche had two one-year extension options and a $375 million USD accordion feature and a swingline sub-limit. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance the 2021 $1.57 billion USD RCF and for the working capital needs. The rise in the RCF was reflective of the rise in commodity prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Records ID #103611 and #110358 capture BOC London and Geneva Branches' contributions. In addition to BOC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., DBS Bank, the Amsterdam Branch of Deutsche Bank AG, the London Branch Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (DBTCA), the Amsterdam, Lancy / Geneva Branch of ING Bank N.V., Natixis, Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd., HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG (HSBC Deutschland), CA Indosuez (Switzerland) S.A., UBS Switzerland AG, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main, Garanti Bank International N.V., KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Absa Bank Limited (acting through its Corporate and Investment Banking division), Banque Cantonale de Genève (BCGE), Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV), Banque Internationale De Commerce - BRED (Suisse) S.A. (BIC-BRED), Banque Internationale à Luxembourg S.A. (BIL), Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH), MUFG Bank, and the London Branch of Nedbank Limited. Rabobank, DBS, the Amsterdam Branch of Deutsche Bank, ING Bank, Natixis, and SocGen served as Active Bookrunning Mandated Lead Arrangers. The London of Deutsche Bank and DBTCA served as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners. Credit Suisse (Switzerland) and HSBC Deutschland served as mandated lead arrangers. The London and Geneva Branches of BOC, CA Indosuez (Switzerland), and UBS Switzerland served as lead arrangers. DZ Bank, Garanti Bank, KfW IPEX-Bank, Raiffeisen Bank International, and Wells Fargo Bank served as arrangers. Absa Bank, BCGE, BCV, BIC-BRED, BIL, BBH, MUFG Bank, and the London Branch of Nedbank served as co-arrangers. The RCF was closed oversubscribed and closed increased over the previous RCF. Then, in June 2023, a syndicate of 24 banks across 26 lenders — including the London and Geneva Branches of BOC — entered into an amendment agreement with Traxys S.à.r.l. — now owned by its management team — for the $1,570,000,000 USD syndicated multi-currency RCF agreement ; in the amendment agreement, the lenders extended the maturity period of the $1.57 billion USD RCF by one year, in line with the first extension option. The London Branch of Deutsche Bank exited the RCF; otherwise, it was identical, down to the lender roles. Records ID#103614 and #110841 capture BOC London and Geneva Branches' contributions to this debt rescheduling.