Santos today announced it has secured US$1.2 billion in Export Credit Agency (ECA) supported corporate senior debt facilities.
The new ECA facilities provide Santos with additional liquidity with flexible drawdown dates during the construction period of the GLNG project.
Santos Chief Financial Officer Andrew Seaton said the ECA facilities were part of Santos’ funding strategy announced in late-2010 and demonstrates the company’s ability to source capital from a diverse range of sources on attractive terms.
“The strong support we received from existing and new lenders demonstrates the strength of the Santos business and financial profile. The ECA backed funding features average maturities of eight years and include facilities which amortise over 13 years.”
“We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet. With these new debt facilities, Santos will have more than $7 billion of available funding capacity, including cash and committed corporate and project debt facilities,” Mr Seaton said.
The ECA facilities are summarised in the table overleaf. The facilities include customary conditions precedent to first drawdown which are expected to be satisfied by January 2012.
Taylor-DeJongh acted as financial advisor to Santos on the ECA facilities.
