Fiat Agrees EUR4B Loan Terms, Two Banks Still To Commit-Source

19th Jul 2010 12:48

By Carol Dean Of Dow Jones Newswires LONDON (Dow Jones)--Fiat SpA (F.MI) has agreed terms to its EUR4 billion loan financing with a group of eight banks, a prerequisite to the company's demerger plans, with two of the banks still to receive internal approval to commit to the deal, said one person familiar with the situation Monday. The two banks are currently seeking internal credit approval to commit to the financing and are expected to gain approval by close of play Tuesday, ahead of the Italian manufacturer's first half results Wednesday, the person said. Fiat needs the financing to pay off debt that is expiring this year and prepare itself for a spin-off--which will see its tractor and truck operations go into a separate company from its car-making operations--that is set to be completed by the end of the year. The company has EUR3.4 billion of loans, EUR500 million of bonds and EUR800 million of other debt maturing in the coming months. The financing comprises a EUR2.5 billion bridge to bond offer with a maturity of one-year plus a one-year extension option, as previously reported by Dow Jones. In addition, there is a EUR1.5 billion revolving credit facility for which Fiat has agreed to a shorter three-year maturity than the five-year tenor the company was initially seeking, people familiar with the situation said. Fiat publishes first-half results on July 21, and may disclose details of the financing if it manages to wrap up talks with the lenders in time, people previously told Dow Jones. The eight banks that have agreed to the terms are Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI), Unicredit SpA (UCG.MI), Citigroup Inc. (C), BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR), Societe Generale SA (SCGLY), Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR) unit Calyon, Barclays PLC (BCS) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, the person said. Fiat declined to comment. By Carol Dean, Dow Jones Newswires, 44 20 7842 9306; [email protected] (Gilles Castonguay in Milan contributed to this article.) (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 19, 2010 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)