Metso Corporation has signed a five-year revolving credit facility agreement with a syndicate of 14 banks. The facility is for general corporate purposes, primarily supporting Metso's access to short-term funding. It will replace two existing revolving credits: EUR 230 million credit from 1998 and the remaining EUR 400 million of the credit from year 2000, while extending the maturity of the credit commitments till 2008.
The total amount of committed credit facilities, including a EUR 100 million short-term credit line, has been scaled to meet Metso's expected funding needs after the completion of major acquisitions.
The facility was substantially oversubscribed in the syndication, and Metso chose to increase the amount to EUR 450 million from the initial EUR 400 million. Mandated Lead Arrangers and joint bookrunners of the transaction are Citigroup, Nordea and SEB Merchant Banking, the latter being also the facility agent. Syndication was targeted at Metso's core group of relationship banks. In addition to lead arrangers, the participating banks are Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Sampo Bank plc, and Wachovia Bank National Association as Arrangers, and Bank of America N.A., BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA GROUP, Commerzbank Aktiengesellchaft, CREDIT AGRICOLE INDOSUEZ, Helsinki Branch, OKOBANK, Standard Chartered Bank, and Banca Intesa S.p.A as Co-Arrangers.
Metso Corporation is a global supplier of process industry machinery and systems, as well as know-how and aftermarket services. The corporation's core businesses are fiber and paper technology (Metso Paper), rock and mineral processing (Metso Minerals) and automation and control technology (Metso Automation). In 2002, the net sales of Metso Corporation were EUR 4.7 billion and the personnel totaled approximately 28,500. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.