Oslo, 31 May 2024: BlueNord ASA (“BlueNord” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the successful signing of a new USD 1.4 billion Reserve Based Lending Facility (“RBL” or “Facility”) with a maturity in December 2029. This will refinance BlueNord’s existing USD 1.1 billion Facility. The new Facility becoming effective is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in early June 2024.
The new RBL will start amortising from H1 2027 with a margin payable of SOFR plus 400bps and also includes an Accordion option of up to USD 400 million that may be used to support potential future commercial opportunities. The USD 300 million increase in the RBL Facility and the maturity extension will further reinforce BlueNord’s capital structure. BlueNord expects that the borrowing base under this Facility will exceed the maximum cash drawing capacity at closing of the new RBL.
The new Facility has attracted significant interest from the international lending market with the participation of 15 lenders, both existing and new, and was significantly oversubscribed.
Following conclusion of the RBL refinancing, BlueNord will continue to take the proactive approach outlined in its Q1 2024 results to ensure that its capital structure is reflective of the Company’s strong underlying business and enables it to execute its objective of returning value to its shareholders whilst maintaining a conservative balance sheet.
“It is my pleasure to announce the successful signing of our RBL refinancing which ensures BlueNord continues to have a strong capital structure that supports the Company in achieving its objectives. The new, enlarged Facility has been substantially oversubscribed in what is a challenging market for upstream financing, thus demonstrating the quality and value of our asset base. The highly supportive and quality lending group includes existing as well as new lenders and we fully appreciate the continued confidence they have shown in our ability to deliver for our stakeholders,” said Jacqueline Lindmark Boye, Chief Financial Officer in BlueNord.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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Contact:
Cathrine Torgersen, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Phone: +47 915 28 501
Email: cathrine.torgersen@bluenord.com