Scorpio Tankers gets $143.2 million loan facilities prior to end of Q1

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., April 27 – Scorpio Tankers Inc. entered into three term loan facilities in March, according to its first-quarter earnings news release.

The company received a commitment from a leading European financial institution for a seven-year loan facility of up to $52 million. The loan bears interest at Libor plus 195 basis points. Proceeds will be used to finance a portion of the purchase price of two LR2 product tankers currently under construction, with delivery expected in the first and second quarters of 2016.

Scorpio received a commitment from a loan facility of up to $61.2 million, also from a leading European financial institution. The facility has a five-year maturity and bears interest at Libor plus a margin of between 195 bps and 240 bps per annum. Proceeds will also be used to purchase two LR2 product tankers with delivery in the third and fourth quarters of 2015.

Also, Scorpio entered into a term margin loan facility with Nomura Securities International, Inc. for up to $30 million. All of the shares Scorpio owns in Dorian LPG Ltd. were pledged as collateral. Interest on the facility is Libor plus 450 bps per annum. The facility matures in March 2016 and can be extended to March 2017 at Nomura's option. According to Scorpio, the outstanding balance was $30 million as of March 31, and the facility was fully drawn.

During the quarter ended March 31, Scorpio bought 746,639 of its common shares that are being held as treasury shares at an average price of $7.91 per share. The company had 163,827,903 shares outstanding as of April 27 and about $69 million remaining under its stock buyback program.

As of March 31, Scorpio had about $136 million in cash and long-term debt of about $1.58 billion, according the earnings news release.

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