Login
Ashurst and Corrs act on $186m property raising
Essendon Airport has refinanced and paid of its debts with the help of Ashurst and Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
Digital
Firms: Ashurst (lenders and BOSI); Corrs Chambers Westgarth (Essendon Airport Pty Ltd)
Area: Property
Value: $186 million
Key players: Ashurst’s Martin Coleman acted for the lenders and Jock O'Shea for BOSI
Deal significance: EAPL was seeking to refinance the $150 million facility provided by BOSI ahead of its December maturity date. The lenders are providing EAPL with facilities totalling $186 million. In addition to the $150 million Facility A, which has been used to repay the existing BOSI debt, term facilities totalling $24 million have been provided to finance existing and future projects, as well as a $12 million revolving credit facility which may be utilised by cash advances or bank guarantees.
Whilst the facility agreement is entitled a ‘Syndicated Facility Agreement’, under that agreement each lender provides a separate facility (albeit the term facilities must be drawn pro rata) and separate pricing has been established with each lender bilaterally, making this a club deal. The facilities are secured by a comprehensive security package granted by entities in the Essendon Airport group. Coleman said: "This is an important financing transaction in this market, which was made possible by the Commonwealth Government's support of infrastructure assets."
