Mercuria raises $1.1bn to fund future growth
MERCURIA, one of the world’s top energy traders, has raised almost $1.1bn (£700m) through a loan facility and the sale of oil and gas assets, beefing up its balance sheet for future growth, its chief executive said yesterday.
Marco Dunand said that Mercuria Energy Trading’s Singapore unit was about to close the books on a $745m revolving credit facility with 28 banks, 19 of them Asian, in a financing exercise that had been subscribed 1.5 times.
Mercuria separately agreed to sell interests in oil and gas properties in Bakken, North Dakota to Kodiak Oil & Gas, in a deal that would raise $354m for Mercuria.
Dunand said Mercuria had received approaches from potential investors, including sovereign wealth funds, and might consider selling up to 20 per cent of its equity to one or two investors by the end of 2012, but only if it found the right partner.