Mining and trade house glencore has successfully closed senior syndication of the refinancing of a one-year revolving credit facility after raising US$8.4bn in commitments from a total of 37 relationship banks. Glencore's net debt of about U5$30bn - one of the highest in the sector - was under scrutiny as multi-year prices for commodities such as copper and coal pressure its finances. Markets have been concerned that Glencore's high level of debt could compromise its ability to run its trading unit effectively, Bernstein analyst Paul Gait told Reuters. Moody's downgraded Glencore's credit rating to just one notch above junk in December. However, the company's ability to secure debt in this environment had allayed some shareholder concerns, Investec analyst Marc Elliott said. The loan has been scaled back to US$7.7bn ahead of the launch of a wider syndication to a group of around 30 banks scheduled for the second quarter of 2016.
展开▼
