Adnoc negotiating for ‘big syndicated loan’

A banker said the loan was expected to be in a range of $4b to $5b

State-owned energy giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) is in talks with regional and international banks to obtain a syndicated loan worth several billion US dollars, banking sources familiar with the discussions said yesterday.

The loan will be “huge”, two bankers said; a third said it was expected to be in a range of $4 billion to $5 billion. The facility would have various maturities of up to five years.

The loan financing is one of a number of fund-raising plans which the company is considering. It is also discussing the possibility of issuing a project bond that could be as large as $3 billion in size, bankers said, declining to be named.

An Adnoc spokesman told Reuters: “As announced on July 10, Adnoc is expanding its partnership model and creating new partnership and co-investment opportunities across chain.

“Alongside this new partnership model, Adnoc is also taking a more active approach to managing its portfolio of assets and balance sheet to both unlock value and drive growth.

“Furthermore, as per the normal course of its financial planning, Adnoc is also looking at the most effective capital structure for the efficient management of its business.”

Adnoc’s financing strategy is driven by Sultan Al Jaber, the company’s group chief executive, who took charge last year.

“Adnoc is looking at funding for different projects and talks have just begun — nothing has been finalised,” said a regional banker.

The company has not appointed banks yet to lead the planned loan transaction, but a Dubai-based banker said “things will move quickly” and a mandate was likely to be awarded within the next couple of weeks.

Adnoc is also working on an initial public offer of shares in its retail unit, Adnoc Distribution, which could raise up to $2 billion. all areas of its value