Agricultural Bank of China contributes to a 2015 $900 million USD syndicated loan to Nidera for refinancing and general corporate purposes (Linked to Record ID#104713, #104714, and #104715)

Project narrative

On April 24, 2015, a syndicate of 20 banks — including the Singapore Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), the Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB), and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — signed a $900 million USD syndicated loan agreement with Nidera B.V. — a Dutch commodity trader and agri-business company based in Rotterdam owned by COFCO International Limited (CIL), a Cayman Islands-incorporated company and wholly-subsidiary of COFCO (Hong Kong) Limited which itself is wholly owned by Chinese state-owned food processing holding, manufacturing, and trading company COFCO Corporation (51% stake) and Cygne B.V., a Netherlands-incorporated holding company represent the family of Nidera's founders (49% stake) — for refinancing and general corporates purposes. This unsecured loan was divided into two tranches: a $700 million USD tranche with a maturity period of one years and an interest rate of LIBOR plus a margin of 120 basis points (bps) and a $200 million USD tranche with a maturity period three years and an interest rate based on a floating rate plus a margin. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance Nidera's existing secured $800 million USD facilities dated on August 4, 2009 and for general corporate purposes. Record ID#104712 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#104713 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#104714 captures CCB's contribution. Record ID#104715 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to the three Chinese state-owned banks, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: ABN AMRO Bank N.V, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., ING Group N.V., Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC Bank), HSBC Bank Plc, Natixis, Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA), Deutsche Bank, KBC Group N.V., UniCredit S.p.A., Mizuho Bank, United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB), and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). BOC, ICBC, ABN AMRO, ANZ, HSBC, ING, OCBC Bank, and Rabobank served as bookrunners, with ICBC, ABN AMRO, and ANZ served as active bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers and BOC, HSBC, OCBC Bank, and Rabobank served as non-active bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers. Natixis, SocGen, and Standard Chartered served as mandated lead arrangers. ABC, CCB, Deutsche Bank, KBC, Mizuho, RBS, UOB, and UniCredit also participated. In late 2015, COFCO Corporation and Cygne B.V. issued $40 million USD in shareholder loans to Nidera B.V. to allow it to avoid breaching credit covenants under the RCF, specifically a covenant about its tangible net worth, which required a margin of $500 million USD related to its tangible net worth. At the end of 2015 the margin was just $509 million USD, so in the first quarter of 2016, the loan(s) were drawn down. Record ID#104720 captures COFCO's contribution to this shareholder loan. Then, on or around April 21, 2016, a syndicate of 16 banks — including ABC Singapore Branch, BOC, and ICBC — entered into an amendment-and-extension agreement with the borrower for refinancing purposes; as part of the amendment, the lenders extended the maturity period of the $700 million USD tranche by one year — for a new maturity period of two years — with the $200 million USD tranche's three-year maturity not changed, though some amendments were made to it. The interest rates remained the same, and at least 16 lenders remained, with CCB and RBS, known to have departed the syndicate. Record ID#104716 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#104717 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#104718 captures ICBC's contribution. ICBC, ABN AMRO, ANZ, and ING served as mandated lead arrangers. BOC, OCBC Bank, and HSBC served as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners. Natixis, SocGen, and Standard Chartered Bank participated at lower levels, and ABC, BBVA, Deutsche Bank, KBC, UniCredit, and UOB participated at even lower levels. The amend-and-extend was oversubscribed.