Embraer has upsized an existing credit loan facility with a large group of banks. The Brazilian manufacturer closed a $1 billion facility that has a two-year term to September 2013.

Embraer mandated a group of 25 international financial institutions with BNP Paribas the coordinating agent.

Under the facility, BNP Paribas, Banco do Brasil, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, Santander, Société Générale, and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi are the bookrunners.

Another 18 institutions participated in the transaction: Banco de Chile, BancoEspírito Santo, Bank of America, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Bradesco, ChangHwa Commercial Bank, Citibank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Banking, Crédit Industriel et Commercial, Hua Nan Commercial Bank, ING, Itaú BBA, JPMorgan Chase, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Natixis Transport Finance, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, The Bank of Taiwan and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

The credit loan facility is also a renewal of an exisiting $500 million facility that was signed in August 2006.

The $1 billion total amount is divided into two credit lines: a $400 million for pre-export financing and $600 million for working capital financing.

"The closing of this operation demonstrates Embraer's high degree of credibility, because this is a credit line of $1 billion that is available for withdrawals under pre-agreed conditions," says Embraer CFO Luiz Carlos Aguiar. "The agreement also contributes to improving our credit risk classification in the near future."

Source: Commercial Aviation Online