Pilkington debt refinanced

NIPPON Sheet Glass has refinanced part of the £1.82bn debt it raised to pay for the glassmaker Pilkington.

In a statement the Japanese conglomerate said it had signed up to a £302m five-year loan with the lead arranger Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe.

NSG’s UK subsidiary paid £2.2bn for St Helens-based Pilkington in 2006. The group has succeeded in arranging the loan at a time when many companies are struggling to refinance debt.

NSG said banks committed to the facility included Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Development Bank of Japan, Mizuho Corporate Bank, The Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co, The Norinchukin Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corporation and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Pilkington, founded in 1826, employs 36,000 people worldwide and around 2,000 in St Helens.