Menu

Olam International has secured a $650 million revolving credit facility to refinance existing debt and also meet working capital as well as corporate funding requirements.

According to a statement on Thursday, the agribusiness company said it secured a two-year revolving credit facility that consists of two tranches of $325 million each.  

Olam, which is owned by Temasek, Singapore’s state investment company, announced last week that it had commenced the construction of ultra-modern animal feed mills, poultry breeding farms, and a hatchery in Kaduna and Kwara States. The project is valued at $150 million.

“We are pleased to announce the successful completion of this refinancing, which is a part of our ongoing efforts to optimize the overall tenor and cost of our debt portfolio,” said Neelamani Muthukumar, Olam’s Group Chief Financial Officer. “We would like to thank our banking partners for their strong support and continuing commitment for this transaction.”

Several global banks participated in the fund-raising through their Singapore branches, including J.P Morgan Chase, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Commerzbank AG, Credit Suisse AG, and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group.

Olam is the largest agricultural export company in Nigeria, dealing in the export of cocoa, cashew, sesame, and cotton. The company also owns OK Foods Limited, a biscuit and confectionary maker; Olam Sanyo, a noodles maker; Caraway Foods, makers of culinary ingredients; Ranona Nigeria Limited, makers of breakfast cereals, juices and beverages.

The company is at the forefront of Nigeria’s plans to become self-sufficient in rice production by 2018. In 2013, the company invested N19 billion in a 10,000-hectare rice farm in Nasarawa State to produce 36,000 metric tonnes of rice for the Nigerian market under Mama’s Pride and Mama’s Choice brands.

Olam International began its global agricultural commodities trading business in Nigeria in 1989 and has invested over $1 billion in the country’s agriculture sector in the last ten years.