Commodity trader Gunvor has agreed a US$2.4bn sustainability-linked, multi-currency revolving credit facility (RCF).
The Geneva-headquartered firm agreed a facility made up of two tranches, which will be available to Gunvor SA and Gunvor International, its Swiss and Dutch subsidiaries.
Tranche A is a US $1.89bn 364-day RCF with three 364-day extension options, while Tranche B is a US$510mn three-year RCF with one 364-day extension option.
Both tranches saw increased liquidity compared to last year’s facility due to “strong support from existing and new banking partners”, Gunvor said.
The equivalent deal last year amounted to US$2.27bn.
The backing of Gunvor’s lenders came after the trader was forced to abandon its planned acquisition of Russian oil giant Lukoil’s international assets after the US Treasury issued a tweet calling Gunvor “the Kremlin’s puppet”. The company said the statement was “fundamentally misinformed and false”.
As with previous years, financing is tied to Gunvor’s performance on four key ESG metrics, including the trader’s reduction of scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the reduction of scope 3 emissions “to improve the energy efficiency” of the trader’s shipping fleet.
Other key performance indicators include Gunvor’s investment in renewable and carbon reduction projects, as well as how the company’s assets, joint ventures and suppliers measure up against human rights principles.
The RCF will be used for general corporate purposes, Gunvor said, including refinancing an existing US$1.78bn 364-day tranche of its 2024 European RCF, and a US$350mn three-year tranche of the 2023 European RCF.
This year’s RCF has a US$400mn accordion option and works with the existing US$490mn three-year tranche of the 2024 European RCF.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of this refinancing with an increased facility amount – including in the longer tenor – and several new banks joining the pool,” said Jeff Webster, chief financial officer of Gunvor.
“We thank our banking pool for their continued support in this flagship European financing facility for our group.”
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Rabobank, Crédit Agricole CIB, Emirates NBD, ING, Natixis, Qatar National Bank, SMBC, Société Générale, UBS Switzerland and UniCredit were bookrunning mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) on this year’s deal.
Crédit Agricole CIB, ING, Natixis, SMBC and Société Générale were mandated to arrange the facility and also acted as active bookrunners.
UBS Switzerland was the facility and swingline agent, while Natixis was the sustainability coordinator.
BBVA, DBS Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank were senior MLAs. Citi, KfW Ipex-Bank and Mizuho Bank were MLAs.
Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Commerzbank, DZ Bank, Erste Group Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Lloyds Bank, OTP Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and Standard Bank were lead arrangers.
ABC International Bank, Arab Bank, Banco BPM, Banque Internationale de Commerce, Banque de Commerce et de Placements, CaixaBank, China Citic Bank Corporation, Deutsche Bank, Europe Arab Bank, GarantiBank International, Habib Bank, Mashreqbank, Nedbank, Raiffeisen Bank International, and Union de Banques Arabes et Françaises were arrangers.
