Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 21 May 2007
Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (Royal Vopak) will issue a new USD 375 million senior unsecured Notes Program (“Notes”) in the US Private Placement market. In this new issue twenty-six institutional investors are participating. The proceeds, of which USD 275 million are expected to be made available in June and the remaining USD 100 million in December 2007, will be used to fund the Growth Strategy of Vopak. The Notes will be issued with bullet maturities of 8, 10, 12 and 15 years. The 8 year Notes (USD 75 million) have a floating interest rate. The other three tranches of USD 100 million each have a fixed interest rate, with an average interest rate of approximately 6%.
The Notes strongly improve the financial maturity profile on the outstanding debt. After this new issue the debt profile consists of approximately EUR 350 million of current Notes, EUR 125 million of other debt and the new Notes of USD 375 million. On top of that a EUR 500 million Revolving Credit Facility is in place.
Jack de Kreij, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of Vopak: “Following the successful alignment of the outstanding Notes we experienced very strong excess demand on this new issue and we now have strengthened our relationship with several existing investors while also attracting a broad group of new investors. We deem this is a clear reflection of our solid financial position. It also demonstrates the appreciation of our track record in terms of financial performance. This transaction facilitates the execution of our business ambitions as reflected in our Growth Strategy”.
JP Morgan Securities Inc. acted as Sole Placement Agent while ABN AMRO Inc. was Financial Advisor on this transaction.
Profile
Royal Vopak (Vopak) is the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator specialising in the storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products. On request, Vopak can provide complementary logistics services for customers at its terminals. Vopak operates 75 terminals with a storage capacity of more than 21 million cbm in 30 countries. The terminals are strategically located for users and the major shipping routes. The majority of its customers are companies operating in the chemical and oil industries, for which Vopak stores a large variety of products destined for a wide range of industries.