In line with its resolve to enhance business growth and expansion, Stanbic IBTC, working with its mother brand Standard Bank Group of South Africa, have partnered with Eland Oil & Gas, an oil and gas production and development company operating in West Africa with an initial focus on Nigeria, to announce a new accordion facility and increased borrowing base of $50 million (about N18 billion).
The facility is being underwritten by Stanbic IBTC Bank and Standard Bank while Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited will act as a joint Bookrunner. An accordion facility is essentially an incremental facility, which allows a borrower to take an additional facility over and above what was originally agreed with the financier on the same terms as the original facility for expansion purposes.
In November 2018, Eland Oil & Gas announced that it had successfully refinanced its existing reserve-based lending facility (the ‘RBL Facility’) with a new 5-year syndicated RBL facility in an amount of US$75 million, with the option to increase it to up to $200 million via an accordion, subject to incremental production and reserves.
Speaking during the announcement, Stanbic IBTC said the deal was an opportunity to support Eland Oil & Gas’ business expansion drive in the oil and gas industry. According to the financial institution, it will continue to leverage its excellent investment banking pedigree as well as the strength of its franchise in the Standard Bank Group, the largest financial institution in Africa, to consummate such big ticket deals that will not only help businesses grow but also help deepen key industries.
The oil and gas company announced that following a redetermination, the borrowing base amount increased from $103 million to $134 million and an initial accordion increase of $50 million is being underwritten by Standard Bank of South Africa and Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, resulting in the commitments under the facility increasing from $75 million to $125 million. Of the commitments, $50 million is currently drawn.
Chief Financial Officer, Eland Oil & Gas, Ron Bain, who spoke on the deal, said: “I am pleased to announce the large increase in borrowing base on our RBL facility, which demonstrates the hugely accretive quality of the new wells drilled on the OML 40 asset and the growth in value they bring to our shareholders. Since refinancing the RBL in 2018 into a longer-term facility, we have the flexibility to diversify the capital structure of the company leveraging our position comfortably within our debt parameters and lowering the overall cost of capital.”
Standard Advisory London Limited and Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited (as Bookrunners) have been mandated to manage the primary syndication of the initial accordion increase. Principal repayments are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2019. This is consistent with the statement in the November RNS that there is a one-year grace period on principal repayments from execution of the facility, which occurred in November 2018.
Stanbic IBTC reiterated its commitment, in line with the Stanbic IBTC Group’s value proposition and investment banking pedigree, to continue to assist businesses with high quality advisory and arranging services that will enhance their growth and expansion prospects by providing access to a diverse range of financing options.