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Overview

Bank of China contributes to a $1.95 billion USD syndicated revolving credit facility to Experian for general corporate purposes (Linked to Record ID#104354, #104356, #104357, #104358, and #104359)

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$150,944,444
Commitment Year2018Country of ActivityIrelandDirect Recipient Country of IncorporationJerseySectorBanking And Financial ServicesFlow TypeLoan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Dec 1, 2018
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Dec 1, 2024

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Bank of China (BOC)

Cofinancing agencies

Private Sector

  • Banco Santander, S.A. (Santander Group) (formerly Banco Santander Central Hispano, S.A.)
  • Barclays Bank PLC
  • BNP Paribas S.A.
  • BofA Securities, Inc. (Formerly Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML))
  • HSBC Bank PLC
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Chase Bank, formerly the Chase Manhattan Bank)
  • Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
  • MUFG Bank, Ltd. (Formerly Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU))
  • Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB)
  • Société Générale S.A. (SocGen or Societe Generale)
  • Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Experian plc

Loan description

December 2018 $1.95 billion USD syndicated revolving credit facility to Experian for general corporate purposes

Interest typeVariable Interest RateMaturity6 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

In December 2018, a syndicate of 13 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) and China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) — signed a $1.950 billion USD syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Experian plc — a Jersey-incorporated Dublin, Ireland-based multinational data analytics and consumer credit rating scorer company listed on the London Stock Exchange — for general corporate purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years with two one-year extension options and a final maturity date in December 2023 (December 2025 if both extensions were exercised) and a variable interest rate. The proceeds were to be used for general corporate purposes, including the financing of acquisitions and the refinancing of other borrowings, and the RCF replaced an existing bank facility maturing in June 2021. Record ID#104353 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#104354 captures CCB's contribution. In addition to BOC and CCB, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Barclays Bank Plc, BNP Paribas S.A., BofA Securities, Inc., HSBC Bank Plc, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Banco Santander, S.A., Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB), Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.. Between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, the lending syndicate — still including BOC and CCB — entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower; in the amendment agreement, the lenders extended the maturity period of the $1.95 billion USD RCF by one year — for a new maturity period of six years — and set December 2024 as the new final maturity date. Record ID#104356 captures BOC's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#104357 captures CCB's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, the lending syndicate — still including BOC and CCB — entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower; in the amendment agreement, the lenders extended the maturity period of the $1.95 billion USD RCF by one year — for a new maturity period of seven years — and set December 2025 as the new final maturity date. Record ID#104358 captures BOC's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#104359 captures CCB's contribution to the debt rescheduling. In March 2024, a syndicate of 12 undisclosed banks signed a $1.8 billion syndicated multi-currency RCF with Experian plc for refinancing, general corporate purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years, a final maturity date of March 2029, and an interest rate of the relevant compounded reference rate plus the relevant ISDA Credit Adjustment Spread with a margin. The proceeds were to be used as a backstop for Experian's US Commercial Paper programme, included a swingline facility, for general liquidity for general corporate purposes and headroom, and were used to refinance the $1.95 billion USD RCF.

Staff comments

1. The individual contributions of the 13 lenders to this $1.950 billion USD syndicated RCF loan are unknown. For the time being, AidData has estimated the contribution of BOC and CCB by assuming each contributed an equal amount ($150,000,000 USD) to the loan syndicate.