Big demand for BHP loan backing
The £29bn loan backing BHP Billiton's bid for Potash Corp is oversubscribed ahead of its deadline, with a number of banks still outstanding, bankers said.
Banks already committing 1.6bn include ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, SG, Westpac Banking Corp, BBVA, Lloyds Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Standard Chartered Bank, one of the bankers said.
Bankers said in August the five underwriters – Banco Santander, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan and Royal Bank of Scotland – had stumped up 5.4bn each, while TD Securities made a 1bn take-and-hold commitment.
The oversubscription is expected to bring the lead banks' commitments to below the invited amount of 1.6bn and possibly the other lenders amounts as well, bankers said.