ICBC contributes to a €2 billion EUR syndicated revolving credit facility to Nokia Siemens Networks for general corporate and refinancing purposes (Linked to Record ID#104378)

Project narrative

On June 24, 2009, a syndicate of 21 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — signed a €2.00 billion EUR syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks Oy — a Finland-incorporated telecommunications company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Netherlands-incorporated and Finland-headquartered Nokia Siemens Networks B.V. (NSN), a joint venture between Finnish telecommunications company Nokia Corporation (50.0% stake) and German multinational technology conglomerate Siemens AG (50.0% stake) — and Nokia Siemens Networks Finance B.V. — a Netherlands-incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Nokia Siemens Networks B.V. — for general corporate and refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of three years, a final maturity date in June 2012, and an interest rate based on a floating rate plus a margin tied to a leverage grid that was initially 350 basis points (bps). It included financial covenants related to gearing tests, leverage tests, and interest coverage tests of NSN. The proceeds were to be for general corporate purposes and to refinance bilateral lines. Record ID#104378 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#104379 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to BOC and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Inc. (BAML), Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas S.A., Calyon, Citibank N.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Nordea Bank Abp, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA), Commerzbank AG, Credit Suisse AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., KfW, Pohjola Bank PLC, Sampo Bank PLC, Banco Santander, S.A. and Standard Chartered Bank PLC. BAML, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Nordea, RBS, and SocGen joined as bookrunners during senior syndication, committing €1.5 billion EUR. BOC, ICBC, ANZ, BBVA, Commerzbank, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, KfW, Pohjola, Sampo, Santander, and Standard Chartered joined in retail syndication, committing €900 million EUR, with banks offered tickets of €100 million EUR, €75 million EUR, and €50 million EUR. The loan as a result was increased from its initial €1.5 billion EUR target to €2.0 billion EUR. As of December 31, 2009 €49 million EUR of the RCF had been utilized. As of December 31, 2010 €103 million EUR of the RCF was drawn. On December 21, 2011, Nokia Siemens Networks signed a €1.255 billion EUR forward starting term and multicurrency RCF for general corporate and refinancing purposes. The proceeds were used by the borrower to replace (refinance) the existing €2 billion EUR RCF at its June 2012 maturity. As of December 31, 2011, €613 million EUR of the RCF was drawn. The €2 billion EUR RCF matured in June 2012 as scheduled.