Manama: Bahrain Steel formerly known as Gulf Industrial Investment Company/ GIIC) has successfully closed the syndication of its $340million secured term and revolving credit facilities.
The facilities are split between a seven year $300million amortising term loan and a seven year $40million revolving credit facility. The facilities will be utilised to repay certain existing financial indebtedness of the Company, and for general corporate purposes. The new loan facilities will reduce the overall cost of borrowings for the company.
Arab Banking Corporation, HSBC and Mashreqbank acted as Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers, Bookrunners and Underwriters. Al Khaliji Commercial Bank, BNP Paribas, Doha Bank., and Qatar National Bank joined as Mandated Lead Arrangers. State Bank of India joined as a Lead Arranger.
The loan signing ceremony was held in Bahrain Steel’s Club house which was presided over by the Company’s Chairman, Khalid Al Bassam, and was attended by the senior management of the company and syndicate banks.
“The successful syndication of Bahrain Steel loan facilities is a vindication of our philosophy that lays emphasis on partnerships. Bahrain Steel’s great story and the hard work of the Initial Mandate Lead Arrangers contributed to the success of this syndication. The facility was oversubscribed, which is a clear evidence of the confidence of the banks in the company due to its clarity of vision and excellence in its operations. We intend to continue to earn the lenders’ confidence by not only being innovative in pursuit of our vision but also ensuring that we remain a sound and profitable business, worthy of the trust the syndicate banks have reposed in us,” Al Bassam in a statement said.
Established in 1984, Bahrain Steel, wholly owned by Foulath Holding B.S.C (c) (Foulath), is a leading producer of iron-ore pellets used in the production of steel. It operates two pelletizing plants in the Kingdom of Bahrain with a total capacity of 11 million tons per year.
Foulath was established in June 2008 in the Kingdom of Bahrain and is an investment vehicle and holding company primarily focused on investing in the growth of the steel industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
With investments at current market value in excess of $3.5 billion, Foulath has established companies across the entire steel value chain from “Mine to Metal” and has developed the world’s only fully integrated single site steel complex, which is located in Bahrain. In doing so, Foulath is a market leader and is quickly moving towards becoming one of the most competitive steel producers globally.
Foulath is owned by a group of well-established regional entities led by Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) which is equally owned by the six member states of the GCC countries.