#Citgo looking for $1.2BN to fund daily operations as US #sanctions cripple parent, #Venezuela's #PDVSA #OOTT

Citgo Petroleum Corp. is looking to get a $1.2 billion loan to fund its daily operations as U.S. sanctions cripple its parent company, state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

The Houston-based refiner hired Houlihan Lokey to find lenders to help it refinance bank credit lines maturing this year, a slide deck seen by Bloomberg shows. The deal launched this week and is expected to close on March 22, according to the presentation, which was given to investors by Curtis Rowe, Citgo’s vice president of finance.

The five-year term loan B may pay a coupon of between 4.5 and 5.5 percentage points above the Libor rate and could be issued at 99 cents on the dollar, according to the presentation. Proceeds will be used for "general working capital requirements" and to "provide ongoing liquidity,” the slides show.

The new loan would replace a $900 million secured revolver and a $320 million accounts receivable facility, according to the presentation. Deutsche Bank AG was the lead arranger of the revolver, issued in 2014 alongside Citgo’s existing term loan, which matures in 2021. The German lender and other banks involved in that financing have been reluctant to roll over their exposure, leading Citgo to consider other options, people with knowledge of the matter said.

See the whole story here:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-08/citgo-eyes-1-2-billion-loan-amid-battle-for-control-of-refiner