IHC Merwede Expands Banking Facilities to EUR 1.5 billion
IHC Merwede has increased its underwriting capacity by more than 50% to EUR 1.5 billion. Of this amount, EUR 900 million is committed. The financial agreement has been forged between IHC Merwede and an international banking consortium made up of five banks, with the aim of facilitating international growth. The five banks all have large international networks. Three of the five – ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank, – were chosen as they are based in The Netherlands.
The two foreign banks are the French BNP Paribas, and the German Deutsche Bank. All five contributors will help IHC Merwede to achieve its goal of international expansion. The lenders have jointly facilitated the EUR 1.5 billion sum, which will be used by IHC Merwede for guarantees, investments in long-term assets and acquisitions. It will also enable IHC Merwede to finance its customers’ requirements during vessel construction.
Confidence
Mr. Govert Hamers, President of IHC Merwede, is delighted about the financial agreement: “As a result of the recent global economic downturn, there is still some abstention in the financial sector. A credit facility of this size may be attributed to the level of confidence in IHC Merwede and the company’s ambitions. It offers us excellent potential to continue to develop our business strategy and organisational structure.”