Transfield invests in Easternwell
Agrees to Dh2.56 billion of syndicated loans to help fund its acquisition of Queensland group
Sydney: Transfield Services, an Australian provider of services to the oil and gas industry, agreed to $685 million Australian (Dh2.56 billion) of loans to refinance debt and help fund its acquisition of Easternwell Group.
The syndicated facilities maturing from 2012 to 2014 are denominated in Australian and US dollars, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Transfield paid a margin of 280 basis points more than the bank bill swap rate for the $250 million Australian portion due in four years, according to a person familiar with the transaction, who asked not to be named saying details were private.
Refinance
"Transfield Services took the opportunity during the acquisition to refinance its entire debt portfolio with longer-term maturing debt," Tiernan O'Rourke, chief financial officer of Sydney's Transfield, said in an e-mail yesterday.
"Average debt maturity has risen from approximately two years to about 3.8 years."
Transfield said December 13 it would buy Toowoomba, Queensland's Easternwell for $575 million Australian. The well operator and builder operates 65 rigs for customers including BHP Billiton, Cameco Corporation and Chevron Corporation. The transaction completed on December 22, it told the Australian stock exchange at the time.
