Bank of China participates in EUR 3.2 billion syndicated bridge loan to facilitate Berli Jucker Public Company Limited’s acquisition of a 58.6% ownership stake in Big C Supercenter (linked to ProjectID #98834)

In early 2016, Berli Jucker Public Company Limited (the core retail business of Thai tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s TCC Group) won a hotly contested auction for Casino Guichard Perrachon’s 58.6% ownership stake in Big C Thailand (also known as ‘Big C Supercenter’) from Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA (a French retailer). In order to facilitate the acquisition, Berli Jucker Public Company Limited signed an EUR 3.2 billion one-year syndicated bridge loan agreement with Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, BNP Paribas, Bangkok Bank, HSBC, Mizuho Bank, Rabobank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. on March 16, 2016. The borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. This project captures Bank of China's contribution, and ID#98834 captures ICBC's contribution. The borrower also entered into a THN 88 billion loan tranche with lenders such as Kasikornbank, Kiatnakin Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, TISCO Bank, and Thai Military Bank. The acquisition was completed on May 11, 2016.

Additional details

1. The individual contributions of Bank of China and ICBC are unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes equal contributions (EUR 355,555,555) across the nine members of the loan syndicate. 2. Bank of China may have also been involved in a 3-year, $500 club loan in September 2016 to refinance the March 2016 loan. This issue warrants further investigation. 3. Berli Jucker PCL is a large Thai conglomerate whose business spans various industries.

Number of official sources

7

Number of total sources

12