Glass giant in £380m refinancing
NSG Group, the Japanese owner of St Helens-based Pilkington Glass, has completed a £380m debt refinancing.
The Manchester-branch of Swedish bank Handelsbanken provided £35m. Other lenders were BNP Paribas, Lloyds TSB, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and The Royal Bank of Scotland.
The refinancing – which matures in 2013 follows NSG’s £1bn takeover of Pilkington in 2006.
The company, which has more than 30,000 staff worldwide said: “The total proceeds will be used to prepay all remaining borrowings maturing in financial year 2011 and to provide sufficient levels of surplus headroom.”
The new banking facility is made up of a £335m revolving credit facility and a
£45m term loan.
NSG is one of the world’s largest glass-makers, specialising in building products, automotive and specialty glass. NSG Group reported annual sales of €5.7 billion in 2009.
Steve Cox, corporate banking manager at Handelsbanken in Manchester, said:”Handelsbanken has supported Pilkington since 1994 and the latest facility for parent company, NSG Group, represents a considerable increase from our current position.
“The facilities will ensure that NSG Group is well-positioned for the global upturn and reflects the growing confidence in the manufacturing industry.”
NSG Group said last month it expected tough trading conditions, interest and restructuring costs to increase its full year loss to around €338m. Final results for the year to the end of this month are due to be published in May.
