Nickel Miner Clinches Club Cash

Australian-Brazilian nickel mining venture Mirabela has clinched $190m in 6.5-year senior debt from a club of banks, part of a $280m financing that also includes subordinated debt and equity from sponsors. The funding is contingent on sponsors’ ability to raise $95m in additional equity, which has not yet been executed, say people familiar with the deal. The senior loan was originally jointly led by Barclays and Credit Suisse, but they have been joined by WestLB and Unicredit (HVB). The 4 have committed to $40m tickets each. Caterpillar Finance completes the lineup, with a $30m ticket in the senior facility. The all-in cost to the borrower, which includes margins and a liquidity premium, is heard at 575bp over Libor in the 1-year construction period and 525bp over Libor in the remaining 5.5 years. The 6.5 year amortizer has a 2-year interest-only period. Caterpillar has also provided $55m in additional equipment financing. Mirabela was first launched as a syndication the week Lehman failed, and pricing had to be flexed several times. The fact that it closed at all is a testament to the perseverance of the borrower and its banks. Compared to terms at launch in September, Mirabela came up $90m short on the senior debt side and an estimated 300bp wider in pricing. The company’s sponsors committed to make up the difference with an equity injection, which helped secure the bank debt needed to meet the project’s demands. A retail syndication may still take place farther down the line, say lenders, but for now the deal is closed.