Fiat Refinancing Talks On Track Ahead Of Results - Source

14th Jul 2010 15:46

By Carol Dean Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Fiat SpA's (F.MI) talks with banks are "on track" towards finalizing a EUR4 billion loan financing, with the Italian group likely to accept a revolving facility for a shorter period than initially sought, said a person familiar with the situation Wednesday. Fiat needs the financing to pay off debt that is expiring this year and prepare itself for a spinoff that is set to be completed by the end of the year. The Italian maker of cars, trucks and engines has EUR3.4 billion of loans, EUR500 million of bonds and EUR800 million of other debt maturing expiring in the coming months. The talks that Fiat is having with six banks is an integral part of the spinoff plan, which will see its tractor and truck operations go into a separate company from its car-making operations. The financing involves a revolving credit facility that is likely to be for three rather than five years, although Fiat had been negotiating for a five-year maturity, the person added. In addition, there is an up to EUR2.2 billion bridge loan to a bond offer that will be issued by Fiat, people familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires last month. Fiat publishes first-half results on July 21, and it might disclose details of the financing if it manages to wrap up talks with the lenders in time, according to a second person familiar with the situation. Fiat declined to comment Wednesday. The banks involved in the talks are Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) and UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI), France's BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR) and Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR), Citigroup Inc (C), and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS.MI). -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 14, 2010 10:46 ET (14:46 GMT)