SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) has signed the biggest syndicated dollar loan in Asia so far this year to refinance a similar borrowing facility due in December, according to people familiar with the matter.
The conglomerate inked the $2-billion deal last week with 35 banks under which it will pay an interest rate of 180 basis points over the benchmark Secured Overnight Financing Rate to borrow for five years, said the people who requested anonymity discussing private matters.
The loan is the biggest in US currency terms this year in Asia outside Japan, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
San Miguel, a power-to-ports conglomerate which is the Philippines’ largest firm by revenue, did not immediately respond to a text message from Bloomberg seeking comment.
The deal will help San Miguel ease repayment pressures stemming from the more than $3 billion of debt it had coming due in 2024.
The company said last month it was optimistic the Philippines’ healthy macroeconomic fundamentals and its own strategy will support its growth momentum this year.
San Miguel’s net income jumped 67% last year even as sales fell 4%, according to a stock exchange filing published last month.
The conglomerate’s interest-bearing debt was little changed at P1.4 trillion ($24.7 billion) as of December 2023 from a year earlier, while its total assets were about P2.5 trillion, based on the filing.
The mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the latest loan deal were Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Bank of China Ltd.’s Hong Kong branch, CTBC Bank Co., ING Groep N.V., Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Rabobank Group, Standard Chartered Plc., and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., according to the people.
Each of the above banks underwrote about $112 million each, the people said. — Bloomberg
