China's Tianqi Lithium agrees extension on $3 bln of loans
<p style="text-align: center;"><img title="1609304211255651.jpg" alt="9.jpg" src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20201230/1609304211255651.jpg"/></p><p>China's Tianqi Lithium Corp has struck an agreement to extend the maturity dates on more than $3 billion in loans, it said after a last-ditch asset sale was enough to persuade lenders to give the company more time to pay.<br/><br/>The agreement eases the immediate financial pressure on Tianqi, one of the world's top producers of lithium chemicals used in electric vehicle batteries.<br/><br/>It was unable to repay almost $1.9 billion in debt last month following a drawn-out plunge in lithium prices but has since secured investment in its Australian operations from IGO Ltd.</p><p><br/></p><p>The repayment deadline on two loan tranches totalling $1.884 billion, which were used to fund an acquisition in 2018, will be extended by one year to Nov. 26, 2021, Tianqi said in a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing on Monday.<br/><br/>The agreement is pending approval by shareholders at a Jan. 5 meeting.<br/><br/>If the IGO investment is completed and Tianqi repays at least $1.2 billion of the loan principal, the deadline can be extended by one more year to November 2022, Tianqi said.<br/><br/>Interest payments on these tranches would be made every six months instead of every three months previously, it added.<br/><br/>The maturity date on a further $1.2 billion tranche originally due Nov. 29, 2022, will also be pushed back by a year, with the possibility of a further extension to November 2024.<br/><br/>Ratings agency Moody's said in a Dec. 14 note the proceeds from the IGO investment could help reduce Tianqi's adjusted debt by 22% over the next 12-18 months, although it kept its rating on the company at the Caa2 junk grade, with a negative outlook.<br/><br/>In a separate filing, Tianqi said its controlling shareholder, Chengdu Tianqi Industry Group, had cut its stake to 30.05% after completing the gradual sale of 6% of its holding first announced in May.</p>
30 Dec,2020
