11th Jul 2005 14:26
Smiths Group PLC11 July 2005 SMITHS SUCCESSFULLY SECURES FUNDING OF £730MILLION Smiths Group today announced that it had successfully raised £660million under amulti-currency revolving credit facility for five years with the possibleextension for a further two years at the option of the banks. The transactionwas originally launched for £600million, but when oversubscribed, was increasedto £660million. The facility was raised for general corporate purposes and willbe partly drawn initially, replacing other short-term bank funding. In addition, Smiths Group has secured funding of £70million from the EuropeanInvestment Bank to underpin the group's research and development activitieswithin Europe over a five year period. "These facilities provide Smiths with a solid medium term flexible financepackage that underpins our business, and in particular, our commitment toresearch and development," said Alan Thomson, Financial Director. "In addition,our financing obligations are now well spread over the next ten years through avariety of public market and bank debt," commented Peter Mason, Director,Corporate Finance. The revolving credit facility was raised equally from eleven financialinstitutions each mandated as joint lead arrangers. The facility was led bySmiths Group Treasury, with coordination from Barclays Capital and BNP Paribas.Legal Advisers were Allen & Overy and Barclays Capital act as Facility Agents. Smiths' €300million Eurobonds mature on 18 July 2005 and will be repaid out ofthe group's general finance facilities. About Smiths Group Smiths Group designs and manufactures safety critical systems and products andhas market-leading positions in aerospace systems, detection systems, medicaldevices, mechanical seals and interconnect products. For further information,visit www.smiths-group.com - Ends - Contact: MediaChris FoxTel: +44 (0)20 8457 8403 Investor RelationsRussell PlumleyTel: +44 (0)20 8457 8203 Corporate FinancePeter MasonTel: +44 (0)20 8457 8202 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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