SBM Offshore Completes US$600 Million Bridge Loan for FPSO Sepetiba

SBM Offshore announced the closure of a US$600 million bridge loan facility for the financing of the construction of FPSO Sepetiba.

The facility was secured by the special purpose company owning FPSO Sepetiba and was agreed with a consortium of four international banks. SBM Offshore is majority owner of this special purpose company (with 64.5% equity ownership), together with Mitsubishi Corporation (20%) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (15.5%).

The facility will be drawn in July 2020 to finance the ongoing construction of the FPSO Sepetiba. The tenor of the bridge loan is six months with an extension option for another six months. The facility benefits from sponsor guarantees, which are to be released upon repayment. Repayment is expected to take place upon closure and first drawdown of the project loan which continues to progress. The facility’s weighted average interest margin is in line with the expected margin of SBM Offshore’s existing US$1 billion revolving credit facility for the second half of 2020.

Bert-Jaap Dijkstra, Group Treasurer of SBM Offshore, commented: “The successful closure of this bridge facility demonstrates the robustness of our financing model as well as the strength of SBM Offshore’s long-standing relationships with our banks. As the facility is arranged at the level of the special purpose vehicle, it represents a financing tool which enables SBM Offshore and partners to optimize the financing of major projects. Further, this bridge facility improves SBM Offshore’s liquidity position at a competitive rate.”