Whitehaven Coal has secured a new $US600 million ($A853m) senior secured syndicated facility, strengthening its balance sheet and advancing a broader refinancing strategy.
The facility, with a tenor of four and a half years, comprises a $US475 million term loan and a $US125 million revolving credit facility.
Whitehaven has also received bank credit approvals for an additional $US150 million and may upsize the facility as part of its ongoing refinancing process.
The funding package was strongly supported by lenders, reflecting confidence in Whitehaven’s credit profile, financial discipline and long-term strategy.
“With Whitehaven’s strengthened credit profile and successful integration – and initial improvements – of the Daunia and Blackwater metallurgical coal operations, we are focused on refinancing our acquisition credit facility and establishing a capital structure with more diverse, longer tenor and lower cost debt facilities,” Whitehaven managing director and chief executive officer Paul Flynn said.
“The successful execution of the new senior secured syndicated facility, with a headline rate of around 6 per cent, further strengthens our funding flexibility, extends our maturity profile, materially reduces our funding cost and improves our weighted average cost of capital.”
Flynn said strong backing from banking partners highlighted confidence in the company’s cash flow generation and capital management approach, as Whitehaven continues work to refinance the remaining acquisition debt and deliver shareholder value.