THAI UNION FROZEN PRODUCTS PCL. USD100 MILLION SYNDICATED TERM LOAN FACILITY
Main board listed Seafood processor Thai Union Frozen Products made a highly successful debut in the international syndicated loan market. Its first ever syndicated lending attracted support from 8 international banks: Calyon, BNP Paribas, Mizuho Corporate Bank, The Bank of Nova Scotia and Rabobank committed as mandated lead arrangers while Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Trust joined as lead arrangers.
Bank of China committed as a senior manager. Calyon acted as the sole bookrunner in this transaction. The proceeds of the Facility is for general corporate purposes although Thai Union has confirmed that the facility will largely be used to refinance its existing borrowings. A signing ceremony was held at the Four Season Bangkok yesterday. Thai Union Frozen was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Samutsakorn and branch in Bangkok. It is one of the largest seafood processor in Asia ex-Japan by sales value and the largest tuna packer in the world in terms of production volume. It operates out of three countries: Thailand, U.S. and China and employs a global workforce of over 24,000 people. Thai Union Frozen’s core business include the production and distribution of canned tuna, frozen shrimp, frozen tuna loins, frozen cephalopod, shrimp feed, canned seafood, canned petfoods, and a domestic snack business. The Group operates several other related businesses, including a can manufacturing business and a printing business, which allow the Group to vertically integrate its supply chain. John Corrin, Managing Director & Head of Global Loan Syndication – Asia Pacific at Calyon provided an insight of the highly successful syndication process “Thai Union Frozen represents one of the very best success stories in Thailand. The group has demonstrated strong business acumen and astute management over the years. We received a strong flow of reverse enquiries when the deal was initially launched. Despite a very heavy oversubscription, the Borrower had decided not to increase the Facility size. All the banks present today are extremely glad to be associated with this transaction.” Khun Thiraphong Chansiri, President of Thai Union Frozen expressed his delight with the overwhelming response “We are extremely honoured to receive such strong support from the banking community in our first ever syndicated loan. This is an exciting time for Thai Union and a new chapter in our group’s history. I am confident that this loan will provide us with the ammunition to grow our business even further.” For more information please contact: Public Relations Department Tel: (662) 298-0024, 298-0537 - 41 ext. 675-8
Fax: (662) 298-0537 - 41 ext. 679