Bank of China contributes $62.92 million AUD to the $1.2 billion AUD term loan tranche of the $4.25 billion AUD syndicated loan for the WestConnex M4 2020 Refinancing Project (Linked to Record ID#96832, #96834, and #96835)

Project narrative

On November 23, 2016, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of six banks entered into a $1,724,381,000 AUD ($1.27957 billion USD) syndicated loan agreement with WCX M4 Finco Pty Ltd — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) responsible for raising external debt finance and wholly owned subsidiary of New South Wales government-owned Sydney Motorway Corporation Pty Limited (SMC) — for the WestConnex M4 Project. Then, on March 29, 2017, the lenders successfully syndicated the loan, bringing on two additional lenders — including the Bank of China (BOC). This syndicated loan was divided three tranches: a $924.38 million AUD ($685.94 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of five years and a maturity date of November 23, 2021; a $400.00 million AUD ($296.82 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of seven years and a maturity date of November 23, 2023; and a $400.00 million AUD revolver tranche with a maturity period of five years and a maturity date of November 23, 2021. This loan was secured and there was a security trustee. WCX M4 Finco on-lent the proceeds of the loan to WCX M4 Asset Trust — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) wholly owned by SMC responsible for the financing, design, and construction of the project — on substantially the same terms as that of the senior debt facility. All post-syndication lenders (eight banks), including BOC, contributed approximately $165.3 million USD to the loan syndicate. Record ID#96827 captures BOC's contribution. Then, in October 2018, a syndicate of 16 lenders — including the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), BOC, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into a $4 billion AUD ($2,903,830,000 USD) syndicated loan agreement with STP Finco Pty Ltd. — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) — for the WestConnex M4 2018 Refinancing Project and the WestConnex Privatization Refinancing Project. This loan was divided into four tranches, split evenly into $2 billion AUD of three-year debt and $2 billion AUD of five-year debt: a $1.362 billion AUD ($988.75 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of three years and a maturity date of September 27, 2021; a $1.362 billion AUD term loan tranche with a maturity period of five years and a maturity date of September 27, 2023; a $638.00 million AUD ($463.16 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of three years and a maturity date of September 27, 2021; and a $638.00 million AUD term loan tranche with a maturity period of five years and a maturity date of September 27, 2023. It carried an interest rate based on a floating rate plus a margin of 140 basis points (bps). ABC contributed $85.13 million AUD ($61.80 million USD), BOC contributed $103.85 million AUD ($75.39 million USD, and ICBC contributed $71.51 million AUD ($51.91 million USD) to the three-year $1.362 billion AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#96864 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96865 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#96866 captures ICBC's contribution. ABC contributed $85.13 million AUD, BOC contributed $103.85 million AUD, and ICBC contributed $71.51 million AUD to the five-year $1.362 billion AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#96867 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96868 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#96869 captures ICBC's contribution. ABC contributed $39.86 million AUD ($28.94 million USD), BOC contributed $48.65 million AUD ($35.32 million USD), and ICBC contributed $33.50 million AUD ($24.32 million USD) to the three-year $638 million AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#96870 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96871 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#96872 captures ICBC's contribution. ABC contributed $39.86 million AUD, BOC contributed $48.65 million AUD, and ICBC contributed $33.50 million AUD to the five-year $638 million AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#96873 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96874 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#96875 captures ICBC's contribution. Then, on December 11, 2020, a syndicate of 19 lenders — including ABC, BOC, the Bank of Communications (BoComm), and ICBC — entered into a $4.250 billion AUD ($3.21281 billion USD) syndicated loan agreement with WestConnex Finance Company Pty Limited — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and the financing vehicle of the WestConnex Group (WCX) owned by Sydney Motorway Corporation Pty Limited (SMC), itself jointly owned by the Government of New South Wales (49% equity stake) and the Sydney Transport Partners join venture (51% equity stake) — for the WestConnex M4 2020 Refinancing Project. This syndicated loan was divided into four tranches: a $1.000 billion AUD ($755.95 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of three years; a $1.200 billion AUD ($907.15 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of five years; a $800.00 million AUD ($604.76 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of seven years, and a $1.250 billion AUD ($944.94 million USD) bridge facility tranche with a maturity period of two years. Financial close was achieved on December 18, 2020. The proceeds of this syndicated loan were to be used by the borrower to refinance $4.0 billion AUD of existing bank debt facilities for the WestConnex M4 Project that were established when the Sydney Transport Partners acquired a 51% stake in WestConnex in 2018 and to help fund its associated transaction costs. The WestConnex M4 Project was the first stage of the $16.8 billion AUD 33-kilometer long WestConnex motorway in Sydney, New South Wales. It sought to establish a toll road under a long-term concession (expiring in 2060). It was divided into two substages: the M4 Widening, which sought to widen a 7.5 kilometer section of the existing M4 Motorway from Parramatta to Homebush to four lanes (referred to as the M4 Widening); and M4 East, which sought to construct 6.5 kilometers of roadway, including, twin 5.5-kilometer long tunnels between Homebush and Haberfield via Concord, with room for future connection to the M4-M5 Link at the Wattle Street Interchange. In addition to ABC, BOC, BoComm, and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Crédit Agricole Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC), Export Development Canada (EDC), ING Bank, Korea Development Bank (KDB), Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Ltd., National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), Westpac Banking Corporation, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). All lenders contributed to each tranche, except SMBC, which only contributed to the $1 billion AUD term loan tranche, $1.2 billion AUD term loan tranche, and the $800 million AUD term loan tranche. ABC, BOC, BoComm, and ICBC contributed $52.43 million AUD ($39.64 million USD) each to the $1 billion AUD term loan tranche; SMBC contributed $56.25 million AUD ($42.52 million USD). Record ID#96828 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96829 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#96830 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#96831 captures ICBC's contribution. ABC, BOC, BoComm, and ICBC contributed $62.92 million AUD ($47.56 million USD) each to the $1.2 billion AUD term loan tranche; SMBC contributed $67.50 million AUD ($51.03 million USD). Record ID#96832 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96833 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#96834 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#96835 captures ICBC's contribution. ABC, BOC, BoComm, and ICBC contributed $41.86 million AUD ($31.65 million USD) each to the $800 million AUD term loan tranche; SMBC contributed $46.50 million AUD ($35.15 million USD). Record ID#96836 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96837 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#96838 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#96839 captures ICBC's contribution. ABC, BOC, BoComm, and ICBC contributed $69.44 million AUD ($52.50 million USD) each to the $1.25 billion AUD bridge facility tranche. Record ID#96840 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96841 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#96842 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#96843 captures ICBC's contribution. Then, on August 8, 2022, financial close was reached a deal in which a syndicate of 11 lenders — including ABC and BOC — entered into a $1.7 billion AUD ($1.17897 billion USD) syndicated loan agreement with WestConnex Finance Company Pty Limited — now jointly owned by Transurban (50.0% equity stake), AustralianSuper (20.5% equity stake), Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (10.5% equity stake), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (10.0% equity stake), and Tawreed Investments (9.0% equity stake) — for the WestConnex M4 2022 Refinancing Project. This syndicated loan was divided into two tranches: a $900.00 million AUD ($624.16 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of four years and a maturity date of August 8, 2026 and a $800.00 million AUD ($554.81 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of seven years and a maturity date of August 8, 2029. The proceeds of this loan were used by the borrower to refinance the WestConnex toll road. ABC and BOC each contributed $60.00 million AUD ($41.61 million USD) to the $900 million AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#96844 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96845 captures BOC's contribution. ABC and BOC each contributed $50.00 million AUD ($34.68 million USD) to the $800 million AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#96846 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#96847 captures BOC's contribution. The proceeds of this loan were to be used by the borrower to refinance the WestConnex M4 Project, the first stage of the $16.8 billion AUD 33-kilometer long WestConnex motorway in Sydney, New South Wales. Specifically, the WestConnex M4 Project sought to establish a toll road under a long-term concession (expiring in 2060). It was divided into two substages: the M4 Widening, which sought to widen a 7.5 kilometer section of the existing M4 Motorway from Parramatta to Homebush to four lanes (referred to as the M4 Widening); and M4 East, which sought to construct 6.5 kilometers of roadway, including, twin 5.5-kilometer long tunnels between Homebush and Haberfield via Concord, with room for future connection to the M4-M5 Link at the Wattle Street Interchange.