Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments has signed a 3.6 billion euro ($4.05 billion) loan of five years duration which will be used to replace several of the state fund's existing debts, it said in a statement. The transaction was arranged "on tighter terms compared to previous facilities", it said without detailing the loan's pricing.
Nine banks provided cash for the loan: Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, J.P. Morgan, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Natixis, Societe Generale and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. A further, limited sell-down of the loan to other banks, known as a syndication, was now in process, the statement added.
Reuters reported last month that Aabar was close to securing the loan, which would repay existing loans including a $2.5 billion facility that was due to mature in April, with pricing of sub-200 basis points over benchmark rates. Aabar manages a portfolio of investments spanning real estate and aerospace to financial services and energy.