Baker McKenzie has advised Barminco Finance on the sale of a US$350m bond offer together with a $100m revolving credit facility and associated hedging agreements.

The senior secured notes, due in 2022 and listed on the Singapore Exchange, were sold to institutional investors in the United States and Asia. Net proceeds from the sale will be used to repay US$299.7 million of high-yield bonds that were issued in May 2013 and for general corporate purposes, the firm said.

Baker McKenzie fielded a multijurisdictional team to provide US, Australian, and Singapore law advice. Andrew Reilly, US capital markets partner, and Bryan Paisley, Australian banking and finance partner, led the team from the global firm’s Sydney office.

Reilly was assisted on the US law aspects of the transaction by associate Anna Kramer in Sydney and partner Michael Hamilton in Houston. Paisley – who ran the Australian law advice on the bond offer, the new super senior $100 million secured credit facility, and the hedging transaction – was assisted by Teresa Ientile, Jana Hitchock and Justin Wong.

With the debt refinancing, Barminco management said that the company is unlikely to pursue an initial public officer until next year at the earliest, a report from The West Australian said. Private equity Gresham, which owns a majority of the company, is not in a hurry to exit its investment, officials of the mining company said.


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