Glencore Xstrata: $15bn sought to refinance credit lines

Glencore Xstrata was seeking $15 billion (R158bn) of loans to refinance $17.3bn of credit lines arranged last year, people with knowledge of the matter said. The facility comprised one- and five-year revolving credit facilities and was being marketed to a wider group of lenders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the terms were private. BNP Paribas, Citigroup, ING and UniCredit were co-ordinating the deal. A spokesman for the global commodity trader run by billionaire Ivan Glasenberg declined to comment on the refinancing. The deal would replace a three-part facility obtained in June last year after Glencore acquired Xstrata. Commodities traders use credit lines for day-to-day trading, regularly drawing and repaying the loans over short periods to finance the purchase and delivery of assets. Glencore was offering to pay interest of about 50 basis points more than benchmark rates for the one-year portion, and a margin of about 60 basis points for the five-year facility, the people said. That compares with an 80 basis-point margin for the one-year loan arranged last year and 85 basis points for its five-year credit line. Glencore Xstrata shares rose 2.29 percent to close at R55.75 on the JSE yesterday. – Bloomberg