Trafigura Preps Asset-Based Loan

The Mexican subsidiary of global trader Trafigura is expected soon to launch a 1-year asset-based loan of up to $350m into general syndication, after luring 4 banks into the trade at a senior level. Bookrunners include BNP Paribas, Bladex and Scotiabank, with Banco do Brasil also heard participating. Lending size will be based on a percentage of the underlying worth of the collateral, which in this case will be metal inventories and receivables. The structure requires the borrower to consistently demonstrate it holds a sufficient amount of assets to support the loan. The trading company has been sounding out banks throughout Latin America in an effort to augment its investor base. The structure remains relatively new for the region and, for instance, has been used in a similar manner in Colombia, where BNP Paribas also led a $180m reserve-base facility for Pacific Rubiales to finance oil and gas exploration. In that case, the value of the borrowing base was amended twice a year. Trafigura is one of the world’s largest independent traders in the oil and non-ferrous concentrates markets.