Stolt-Nielsen Secures $600m Credit Facility

Stolt-Nielsen Limited (Oslo Børs: SNI)  has obtained commitments for a $600 million senior secured revolving credit facility, which will replace the Company's two existing revolving credit lines maturing in July 2012 and January 2013 respectively.  The facility will be secured by ships in the Company's fleet, and the financial covenants are in line with the Company's standard covenants.  The facility, which was oversubscribed, consists of a consortium of nine banks.  Closing is expected to take place in January 2012 and the new facility will mature in January 2018. 
Commenting on the refinancing, Mr. Jan Chr. Engelhardtsen, Chief Financial Officer of SNL, said, "This revolver, in combination with our $300 million unsecured bond issue in June 2011, provides us with the liquidity needed for our committed capital expenditures in 2012 and beyond.  Given the challenging conditions in global credit markets at the moment, we are very pleased with the completion of this significant transaction, which underscores both the strength of our balance sheet and the stability of our business portfolio."