This new increased facility was significantly over-subscribed and provides IDB and the Irish dairy industry with significant funds to meet domestic expansion and international growth requirements as both prepare for the removal of milk quotas in 2015.
The refinanced facilities comprise of two distinct parts:
The participant Banks remain the same as under the previous facilities: Allied Irish Banks; Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Barclays; HSBC; Rabobank; Ulster Bank.
The RID Facility was first introduced in 2012 and the ‘step-up’ mechanism introduced as part of this refinancing allows the RID Facility to step-up, on a committed basis, from €200m in 2014 to €235m in April 2015 and to €255m in April 2016. This, coupled with the uncommitted €50m tranche, allows the RID Facility to become a scalable funding solution for our members’ anticipated increased milk expansion post the abolition of milk quotas in 2015.
Commenting on the refinancing, IDB group finance director Donal Buggy said: “The successful refinancing demonstrates the strong support that exists amongst our participating banks for both the IDB and the Irish dairy industry generally. This strong support was clearly voiced in recent meetings with all of our banks and is evidenced by our new facilities being significantly over-subscribed. The new facilities strengthen our capital structure and enhance the operational flexibility of the IDB by extending the maturity profile of our debt for five years to February 2019 on competitive terms. It also gives us the opportunity to make further acquisitions or other strategic investments on our journey to providing routes to market and superior returns for Irish dairy farmers. The RID Facility, and its step up mechanism to €255 million, provides a significant additional funding source for our members as they invest in growing their output in the crucial period around the removal of milk quotas.”
Source: Irish Dairy Board
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