Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On November 5, 2021, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 14 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) — entered into a £856.00 million GBP ($1.15523 billion USD) syndicated loan agreement with Kellas Group Finance Limited — a special purpose and finance vehicle for Kellas Midstream Limited, an independent energy infrastructure company jointly owned by BlackRock and Singapore's GIC — for the Kellas Midstream 2021 Refinancing Project. This loan was divided into two tranches: a £816 million GBP ($1.10125 billion USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of seven years, a final maturity date of November 5, 2028, and an interest rate benchmarked against SONIA and a £40.00 million GBP ($53.98 million USD) revolver tranche with a maturity period of seven years, a final maturity date of November 5, 2028, and an interest rate benchmarked against SONIA. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower for the refinancing of Kellas Midstream, a portfolio of gas assets in the British North Sea consider critically important that transported 43% of the UK's domestic gas production in 2021. Specifically, the refinancing was intended to aggregate two existing borrowings into one single refinancing facility and revolving credit facility (RCF). BOC and the other 13 lenders each contributed £58.29 million GBP ($78.66 million USD) to the £816 million GBP term loan tranche. In addition to BOC, the following lenders contributed to the tranche: Crédit Agricole Group, ABN AMRO Bank NV, Lloyds Bank, Natixis, National Westminster Bank Plc (NatWest), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A (BBVA), Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. (AIB), Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., Wells Fargo Bank N.A., the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), ING Group N.V., BNP Paribas S.A., and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Five lenders each contributed £8.00 million GBP ($10.80 million USD) to the £40 million GBP revolver tranche. The following lenders contributed to the tranche: Crédit Agricole Group, ABN AMRO Bank NV, Lloyds Bank, Natixis, and NatWest.