Emirates Global Aluminium PJSC (EGA) completed a refinance of US$5.5 billion of its debt, reducing its debt load by US$1 billion.
EGA’s refinance of the 2019 note is a senior unsecured note and extends the repayment date by two and a half years. The new note also features terms that materially reduces the cost of debt to EGA as it continues to strengthen its balance sheet and reduce its leverage.
Zouhir Regragui, EGA’s Chief Financial Officer, noted the importance of the refinance to his firm in a related press release.
“2020 was a pivot year for EGA when, after delivering upon our upstream expansion strategy by completing our investments in bauxite and alumina, we have turned our focus to deleveraging to support EGA’s ambitions to further strengthen our balance sheet and – if our shareholders wish it – become not only the UAE’s largest non-oil industrial company but also one of this country’s largest listed companies. Achieving a US$ 1 billion reduction in the facility during a period impacted by COVID-19 demonstrates the strength of EGA’s free-cash-flow generation.”
The financial institutions involved in the refinance include Citi, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Natixis, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, BNP Paribas, Export Development Canada, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, MUFG, Societe Generale, and Standard Chartered.
EGA notes that the transaction was significantly oversubscribed and otherwise well received by the market.
Based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Emirates Global Aluminium is an aluminium conglomerate created by the merger between Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) and Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) in 2013. EGA had an estimated enterprise value of US$15 billion at the time the merger took place. The firm is owned equally by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai. Emirates Global Aluminium holds interests in bauxite/alumina and primary aluminium smelting.