share offer for Kuroda Electric on Thursday.
The offer ends on December 15.
Top shareholders, including investment
funds led by family members of Japanese
activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami, have
agreed to sell their combined 39% stake to
MBK.
Kuroda Electric is expected to be delisted
from the TSE once the LBO is completed.
› JTEKT RAISING BUY BRIDGE
Auto-parts maker JTEKT CORP has said in a
filing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange that it
is raising a six-month bridge loan of ¥26bn
from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to finance
fully its acquisition of domestic peer Fuji
Kiko.
JTEKT launched on Wednesday a ¥740
per share offer for Fuji Kiko. The offer ends
on December 14.
In September, the borrower obtained
a US$53.5m loan from Japan Bank for
International Cooperation to fund a
Rs8.405bn (US$129m) increase in its stake
in India’s Sona Koyo Steering Systems. The
loan was funded as a two-step facility via
MUFG. JTEKT raised its stake in Sona Koyo
to 70.5% from 20.1%.
› CANADIAN SOLAR SIGNS DEBUT LOAN
CANADIAN SOLAR INFRASTRUCTURE FUND signed a
¥17.7bn debut term loan on October 20 for
the acquisition of 13 solar power plants in
Japan.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed
company said on Tuesday the loan
comprised a ¥15.7bn 10-year amortising
tranche and a ¥2bn 20-month bullet
portion, paying margins of 45bp over six-
month Tibor and 20bp over six-month
Tibor, respectively.
Shinsei Bank was the bookrunner, arranger
and agent. Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui
Banking Corp came in as arrangers, while
Hiroshima Bank, Mie Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group, Nanto Bank, Oita Bank, Orix
Bank, Resona Bank, Shonai Bank and Tochigi
Bank joined in syndication. Funds were
drawn on Tuesday.
The borrower, which Canadian Solar
established to invest in solar power plants
in Japan, was listed on the TSE on Monday.EQUITY CAPITAL MARKETS
› POSCO SELLS ¥21.8BN NIPPON BLOCKSouth Korean steelmaker Posco has sold
a ¥21.8bn (US$192m) block of shares in
Japan’s NIPPON STEEL AND SUMITOMO METAL CORP,
pricing in the bottom half of the indicative
range.
The block of 8.1m shares priced at ¥2,690
each, representing a 2.5% discount to the
October 30 close. The sale was marketed ata price range of ¥2,676–¥2,758.5.
Posco faces a 180-day lock-up period on
its remaining shares.
Nomura and Bank of America Merrill Lynch
were joint bookrunners.MALAYSIA
RESTRUCTURING
› COURT GRANTS NAM CHEONG SOAThe Singapore High Court has granted
financially strapped Malaysian company
NAM CHEONG’s application for a scheme of
arrangement.
Under the scheme, the company will be
protected from creditors for a period of
six months, which can be extended. As a
result, among other things, no receiver or
manager can be appointed, no action or
proceedings can be commenced against
the company and no steps can be taken to
enforce any security over the company’s
properties or assets.
However, this moratorium will not
preclude bond trustee DBS Trustee from
taking steps to enforce its rights to funds
held in interest service reserve accounts for
two bonds, the series 003 S$200m 5.05%Lenders respond strongly to SoftBank call
Loans Japanese borrower increases size of refinancing to ¥2.65trn and adds ¥84bn hybridSOFTBANK GROUP CORP is poised to sign Asia’s
largest syndicated loan, having increased
the size of its giant refinancing to ¥2.65trn
(US$23bn) from ¥2.6trn after 21 banks joined
in senior syndication.
The telecommunications company has
also added a ¥84bn 27-year hybrid loan to
the jumbo refinancing showing its insatiable
appetite for debt.
Mizuho Bank is the original mandated
lead arranger and bookrunner of the giant
refinancing and also sole provider of the
hybrid loan.
Signing of both loans took place on
Thursday, while drawdown is slated for
November 8.
Credit Agricole, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp
came aboard on a take-and-hold basis on
the ¥2.65trn loan, which is expected to be
launched into general syndication after the
close of senior syndication.
The facility is split into four – a ¥700bnthree-year term loan, increased from
¥650bn, a ¥600bn five-year term loan, a
¥1.1trn seven-year term loan and a ¥250bn
seven-year working capital loan, paying
margins of 80bp, 125bp, 160bp and 175bp
over Tibor, respectively, based on SoftBank’s
Ba1/BB+ (Moody’s/S&P) ratings.
Funds will refinance a ¥1trn two-year
bridge loan signed in September last year to
finance SoftBank’s £24.3bn (then US$32bn)
purchase of UK chip designer ARM Holdings.
It will also refinance an acquisition facility
that backed SoftBank’s US$1.26bn purchase
of a 57% stake in US cellphone distributor
Brightstar in 2013, as well as part of a
¥1.98trn loan completed in September 2013.
Mizuho had underwritten the ¥1trn ARM
Holdings acquisition loan on a sole basis
before syndicating it to 18 others. That loan
pays an interest margin of 125bp over Tibor,
based on its Ba1/BB+ (Moody’s/S&P) ratings
at that time. The margin steps down to
100bp for ratings of Baa3/BBB– to Baa1/BBB+ and to 80bp for A1/A+ or above. If the
ratings fall to B1/B+ or below, the interest
margin steps up to 150bp.
The ¥1.98trn financing completed in 2013
comprised ¥1.1trn five-year and ¥880bn seven-
year tranches, paying interest margins below
130bp and 150bp, respectively, on a ratings-
based grid. The loan had refinanced a ¥1.65trn
one-year bridge loan from December 2012
used to back SoftBank’s US$20.1bn acquisition
of US carrier Sprint Nextel.
SoftBank’s most recent foray to the loan
markets was in early August, when it rolled
over a ¥178.5bn 364-day revolving credit.
Meanwhile, the ¥84bn 27-year hybrid loan
carries an interest rate that steps up 10bp in
2024 and a further 20bp in 2039. The initial
interest rate was not disclosed.
Japan Credit Rating Agency and S&P
are assigning 50% equity treatment to the
hybrid.
Funds are for general corporate purposes.
WAKAKO SATO