Banque Saudi Fransi ups syndicated loan

FRENCH CONNECTION: Calyon also acted as a bookrunner for its Saudi affiliate.

Banque Saudi Fransi, Saudi Arabia's fifth-largest bank by assets, has increased a syndicated loan to $525 million from $300 million after the deal closed oversubscribed, the arranging banks said on Monday.

The deal, raised over $570 million in the market, bookrunners Calyon, Intesa Sanpaolo, RZB, SMBC and WestLB said.

The deal, which is for general corporate purposes, is split between a $183 million, three-year tranche A paying a margin of 70 basis points (bps) over LIBOR and a $342 million, five-year tranche B that pays 100 bps.

Participating banks were able to commit to either tranche or both tranches.

Lenders were invited to commit at one of four levels and the top $35 million ticket paid an upfront fee of 60 bps on the A tranche and 125 bps on the B facility.

Banque Saudi Fransi last tapped the loan market in June 2005, when it signed a $650 million, five-year term loan that paid a margin of 35 bps.

Calyon holds an equity interest of 31.1 percent in the borrower.

The bank is rated A by Fitch and Standard & Poor's, and Aa3 by Moody's. (Reuters)

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