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Overview

Bank of China contributes $50.79 million USD to $2.55 billion USD syndicated term loan to Activision Blizzard for debt refinancing purposes in 2017

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$54,047,443
Commitment Year•2017Country of Activity•United StatesDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•United StatesOverseas Jurisdiction•United StatesSector•Business And Other ServicesFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Pipeline: Commitment

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Feb 3, 2017
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Jun 30, 2021

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

  • Amerant Bank N.A. (formerly Mercantil Bank / Mercantil Commercebank, N.A.)
  • Bank of America, N.A.
  • BankPlus
  • BMO Financial Group (Bank of Montreal)
  • Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Limited
  • Citibank, N.A.
  • Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC)
  • First Commercial Bank Limited
  • Goldman Sachs Bank USA
  • Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Ltd. (HNCB)
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Chase Bank, formerly the Chase Manhattan Bank)
  • Mizuho Bank (USA) (formerly Mizuho Corporate Bank (USA))
  • MUFG Bank, Ltd. (Formerly Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU))
  • PNC Bank, National Association
  • SunTrust Bank
  • Taiwan Business Bank (TBB)
  • U.S. Bank National Association
  • Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

State-owned Banks

  • Bank of Taiwan
  • State Bank of India (SBI)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Activision Blizzard, Inc.

Loan description

BOC contributes to $2.55 billion USD syndicated term loan to Activision Blizzard for debt refinancing purposes in 2017

Interest rate (t₀)•2.84989%Interest type•Variable Interest RateMaturity•4.41 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On October 11, 2013, Activision Blizzard — an American video game holding company headquartered in Santa Monica, California, known for franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush — and certain banks closed a financial deal to borrow money for general corporate purposes. There’s no Chinese bank involvement in the initial loan. There are several amendments between 2013 and 2015. On February 3, 2017, financial close (sixth amendment) was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 22 banks — including the Los Angeles Branch of the Bank of China — entered into a $2.55 billion USD syndicated loan agreement with Activision Blizzard, Inc. The maturity of the loan was June 30, 2021 and the interest rate was LIBOR plus an applicable margin. The use of proceeds was to refinance existing indebtedness and to support general corporate purposes. While Bank of China contributed $50.79 million USD to this loan, the following lenders also participated: Bank of America, N.A. ($295.07 million USD); JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ($295.07 million USD); The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. ($253.15 million USD); Mizuho Bank, Ltd. ($253.15 million USD); SunTrust Bank ($253.15 million USD); Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ($253.15 million USD); Bank of Montreal ($191.46 million USD); U.S. Bank National Association ($170.18 million USD); Citibank, N.A. ($170.18 million USD); Goldman Sachs Bank USA ($93.53 million USD); PNC Bank, National Association ($70.17 million USD); State Bank of India, New York ($59.26 million USD); Mercantil Commercebank, N.A. ($29.75 million USD); Crédit Industriel et Commercial, New York Branch ($28.07 million USD); Bank of Taiwan, Los Angeles Branch ($16.93 million USD); Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd., Los Angeles Branch ($16.93 million USD); First Commercial Bank, Ltd., Los Angeles Branch ($16.93 million USD); Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Ltd., Los Angeles Branch ($12.70 million USD); Taiwan Business Bank, Los Angeles Branch ($12.70 million USD); and BankPlus ($8.47 million USD).

Staff comments

1. The entirety of the 2017 loan contract can be accessed at https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/718877/000110465917006608/a17-3790_1ex10d1.htm. The dropbox link is accessible here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7cjbit6ikorv25bftj4iz/Source_ID_216759.pdf?rlkey=2zib43dbu6rn69j7msftv4u0o&st=vyrvzi8x&dl=0 2. Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American video game company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. It is one of the largest interactive entertainment companies in the world and is known for publishing franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo. 3. AidData estimates the interest rate by adding the 6-month average LIBOR rate in February 2017 and an applicable margin based on the company’s credit rating (1.5%).