AFC closes debut dual currency Samurai term loan facility
13 September 2019
Africa Finance Corporation (“AFC” or “the Corporation”), Africa’s leading investment-grade infrastructure solutions provider, announces the successful closure of general syndication which raised US$ 233 million and JPY 1 billion. MUFG Bank, Ltd. (“MUFG”) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (“SMBC”) acted as Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner.
MUFG will be acting as Facility Agent on the transaction, while SMBC will be acting as Documentation Agent.
The Facility, which comprises two tranches, with both tranches (US$-denominated Tranche A and JPY-denominated Tranche B) carrying a tenor of three years each (bullet repayment), is AFC’s first Asian-currency denominated loan facility. It is an important step as the Corporation builds a broad coalition of investors to diversify its funds and allow institutions from around the globe to participate in Africa’s development.
The fundraise was very well received in the Japanese loan market leading to the issue being significantly over-subscribed. This is the largest debut Samurai Loan by an African issuer. The facility was signed on 6 September 2019 with eight Japanese lenders committing to the Facility. The Facility launched into general syndication on 23 July 2019 at a launch amount of US$ 150 million.
Proceeds from the Facility will be used for general corporate purposes in accordance with AFC’s Establishment Agreement and the Charter.
Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of AFC, commented: “The market’s keen interest in participating in AFC’s clearly defined African growth strategy is demonstrated by the wide pool of lenders that supported the syndication. The success of this loan offering is testament to AFC’s ability to diversify our funding sources as we build a coalition of investors to support our mandate of providing solutions to Africa’s infrastructure deficit as well as to our strong fundamentals as an investment-grade institution.”
About AFC – www.africafc.org
AFC, an investment grade multilateral finance institution, was established in 2007 with an equity capital base of US$1 billion, to be the catalyst for private sector-led infrastructure investment across Africa. With a current balance sheet of approximately US$4.5 billion, AFC is the second highest investment grade rated multilateral financial institution in Africa with an A3/P2 (Stable outlook) rating from Moody’s Investors Service. AFC successfully raised US$650 million in 2019, US$500 million in 2017 and US$750 million in 2015 through Eurobond issuances. All Eurobond issues were oversubscribed and attracted investors from Asia, Europe and the USA.
AFC’s investment approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth. AFC invests in high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. To date, the Corporation has invested over US$4.5 billion in projects within 29 countries across Africa.
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