COUNTRY REPORT AUSTRALIA› FIRSTMAC PLANS PRIME RMBS
Regular issuer FIRSTMAC has mandated ANZ,
NAB and Westpac to discuss a potential
Australian dollar prime RMBS issue with
investors.
The non-bank lender last visited the
market in June with a A$1bn prime RMBS
via Firstmac Mortgage Funding Trust No. 4
Series 2-2018.
SYNDICATED LOANS
› W AFRICAN EYES FUNDS FOR SANBRADO
Australia-based gold miner WEST AFRICAN
RESOURCES is looking to obtain project
financing for the development of Sanbrado
Gold Project in Burkina Faso before the end
of the year, according to a stock exchange
filing last Tuesday.
The company has received a strong
response from 14 financial institutions with
non-binding offers for funding ranging
from US$160m to US$215m, the filing said.
West African Resources is in the process
of shortlisting financiers and moving to the
second round of the process, which will
involve site visits, legal and technical due
diligence and facility documentation.
A preferred financier or syndicate will
be appointed to underwrite and arrange
the debt financing before the year-end. The
project is estimated to cost US$185.3m.
In May, West African Resources raised
A$35m (US$25m) from a placement of
109.37m shares at A$0.32 per share for the
commencement of key pre-development
activities at the Sanbrado Gold Project.
The company owns 90% of the project,
which is located near Ouagadougou, the
capital of the western African nation of
Burkina Faso.
Construction is expected to commence
in late 2018 and take around 20 months,
with gold production likely to begin around
mid-2020. Average annual production will
be around 211,000 ounces of gold over the
first five years of the life of the mine.
West African Resources was incorporated
in 2006 and listed on the Australian
Securities Exchange in June 2010 and the
Toronto Stock Exchange Venture Exchange
in January 2014.› TREASURY WINE BACK FOR REFILLAustralia’s TREASURY WINE ESTATES has
launched a US$300m dual-tranche
refinancing, returning to the loan market
after more than a year.
ANZ and HSBC are the mandated lead
arrangers and bookrunners of the transaction,
which comprises a US$100m five-year portion
and a US$200m seven-year piece.The opening interest margins are 130bp
and 165bp over Libor respectively for the
five and seven-year tranches.
Lenders joining as MLAs for
commitments of US$50m or more
receive participation fees of 70bp and
50bp for five and seven-year tranches,
respectively, while lead arrangers with
tickets of US$35m–$49m earn 63bp and
45bp, respectively. Managers coming in
for US$20m–$34m tickets receive fees of
56bp and 40bp, respectively.
The deadline for responses is October 18.
Treasury Wine Estates was last in
the market for a A$663m multi-tranche
loan in May 2017, according to LPC data.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia was the
MLAB on that deal.
Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia-
listed Treasury Wine Estates produces and
markets wines in Australia and California.
It sells its products in North America, Asia
Pacific, and Europe.› ASIAN LENDERS BOOST ENDEAVOURPower grid operator Endeavour Energy
has increased its dual-tranche loan to
A$900m following an overwhelming
response from Asian lenders in general
syndication.
MUFG was the mandated lead arranger
and bookrunner of the loan, which nowSheffield Resources taps NAIF funding
Loans Government fund lends long-term money for Thunderbird mineral sands projectSheffield Resources is raising A$95m
(US$69m) in debt from government fund
Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to
support the development of its THUNDERBIRD
MINERAL SANDS PROJECT, the ASX-listed miner
said on Wednesday.
The senior secured financing is split into
a A$30m 15-year project development
facility (tranche C) and a A$65m 20-year
infrastructure development portion.
Tranche C will be supplementary and pari
passu to a US$175m seven-year dual-tranche
term loan from Taurus Funds Management
announced in October last year.
THUNDERBIRD OPERATIONS and THUNDERBIRD
INFRACO, both wholly owned subsidiaries
of Sheffield Resources, are the respective
borrowers on tranche C and the A$65m 20-
year facilities.
Tranche C has repayments commencing
from year nine for the remainder of its 15-
year life. The A$65m 20-year tranche has
repayments starting from the earlier of 3.5years after the satisfaction of conditions
precedent and 12 months after the date of
project completion.
Both tranches carry additional cash-sweep
provisions.
The US$175m loan from Taurus Funds
Management is part of a larger US$200m
financing to develop the mineral sands
project. With the NAIF financing being put
together, a US$25m contingent instrument
portion that offered a margin of 775bp per
year is no longer required.
The US$175m loan is split into a US$75m
tranche A and a US$100m tranche B paying
interest margins of 450bp over Libor and a
flat 850bp per year respectively.
The loan has an interest-only period for
the first 3.5 years, after which tranche A is
repayable between years 3.5 and seven.
Tranche B has a bullet repayment at the end
of the seventh year.
NAIF’s A$95m facilities will enable Sheffield
Resources to construct on-site liquefiednatural gas power generation and storage
facilities at Thunderbird. The funding will also
help in upgrading the mine site roads, in-
sourcing of mine site accommodation and the
construction and revitalisation of ship loading
and logistics assets within the Port of Derby in
Western Australia.
Azure Capital, financial adviser to Sheffield
Resources, helped arrange the NAIF funding.
NAIF was established in July 2016 with the
aim of providing financial assistance to the
states of Queensland, Western Australia and
the Northern Territory for the construction of
infrastructure to benefit northern Australia.
NAIF may approve loans to June 30 2021
totalling A$5bn.
The Thunderbird project is located in the
Kimberley region of Western Australia and is
one of the largest and highest grade mineral
sands discoveries in the last 30 years.
Sheffield is targeting initial production in
2020 with an expected mine life of 42 years.
PRAKASH CHAKRAVARTI