IHC Merwede gets financing in place to start pipelayer construction

IHC Merwede has put together the financing it needs to get started on a major shipbuilding export project. As we reported in March, IHC Offshore & Marine has signed two contracts with Malaysian offshore operator SapuraCrest for the design, engineering and construction of two new 550 t pipelaying vessels. A third contract has been signed with OSX Construção Naval S.A. Brazil for the design and engineering of a 300 t pipelaying vessel plus a large equipment package supplied by IHC Engineering Business, among others. The orders have a total value of €450million.  

On April 5, a ceremony was held at IHC Merwede’s shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel to mark the issue of the largest ever working capital guarantee by Atradius Dutch State Business – on behalf of the Dutch Government.

IHC Merwede has signed a working capital finance facility of €200 million with its bank consortium, formed by ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING and Rabobank. The banks are providing the capital because Atradius Dutch State Business covers the repayment risk through a working capital guarantee. The facility will be used by IHC Merwede to cover the construction costs of the two vessels which will be built in The Netherlands and which are set for deliveries in May and August 2014 respectively.

The guarantee has been issued after close cooperation with the Dutch Ministries of Finance and Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, banks and exporting business. The overall aim is to promote the provision of working capital to Dutch capital goods exporters, so that they can have access to the required financial resources. Since the introduction of this facility in 2010, hundreds of millions of euros have been provided as coverage. The SapuraCrest order is the largest financing facility covered by a Dutch State working capital guarantee.

“We are delighted to have received this huge order in recognition of IHC Merwede being a supplier of high-quality technological vessels and equipment,” says IHC Merwede’s President Govert Hamers. “Apart from the technology at our disposal, being able to offer a financial package was decisive in securing this sale.”

“The funding of this important transaction came about thanks to the joint efforts of IHC Merwede, its banks and Atradius,” says Johan Schrijver, the CEO of Atradius Dutch State Business. “Our coverage has made a competitive financing package possible, and due to this, the order has been awarded to a Dutch company. This puts our country on the map as an export nation.”

April 10, 2012