Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (“RJIL”) has signed Syndicated Term Loan Facilities aggregating to US $ 1.5 Billion (the “Facility”). The Facility is guaranteed by Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”) and will be used to refinance the syndicated term loan facilities aggregating to US$1.5 Billion tied up by RJIL in 2010.
The Facility was fully underwritten by an initial group of 15 core relationship banks that comprise the Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners (“MLABs”). The deal witnessed significant oversubscription before it was launched into syndication and two banks joined in as MLAs. The overall bank group saw participation from banks all over the world, including North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Middle East. This term loan syndication saw a total of 26 banks participate in the Facility.
This facility is significant on various counts:
• Comprises of US$ 1 Billion Facility I, which has a total maturity of 5.5 years and the US$ 0.5 Billion Facility II, which has a total maturity of 7 years and represents the longest average maturity for an unsecured syndicated loan of similar size in Asia this year;
• Tied up at significantly better terms than the facilities being refinanced which were signed in 2010;
• Facility saw tremendous response in Syndication and raised over US$ 400 million;
• In compliance with RBI guidelines, this Facility saw participation from only International banks;
• This was one of the rare occasions when the higher tenor 7 year facility saw a strong participation in syndication: the 7 year facility saw a higher participation (in percentage terms) than the 5.5 year facility;
• Facility also saw strong participation from Middle Eastern, regional Taiwanese and Japanese banks
The 15 MLABs for the Facility were Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Bank of America N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Singapore Branch, The Bank of Nova Scotia Asia Limited, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Citigroup Global Markets Singapore Pte. Ltd., Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DBS Bank Ltd., The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Singapore Branch, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Westpac Banking Corporation. The 2 MLAs which came in before syndication are National Bank of Abu Dhabi P.J.S.C. and United Overseas Bank Limited.
The banks which joined in syndication are Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Societe Generale SA, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, Singapore Branch, Land Bank of Taiwan, Singapore Branch, Mega International Commercial Bank Co., Ltd., Offshore Banking Branch, Bank of Taiwan, Singapore Branch, CTBC Bank Co., Ltd. Singapore, The Iyo Bank, Ltd. and The Hyakujushi Bank, Ltd. |