Abu Dhabi – United Arab Emirates: National Central Cooling Company PJSC (‘Tabreed’), the UAE-based regional district cooling company, today announced the completion of the refinancing of its current AED 2.6 billion debt facilities. The conditions, margins, and tenor in the new agreement reflect Tabreed’s established position as a leading utility infrastructure business.

The AED 2.6 billion refinancing is comprised of an AED 692 million senior term loan facility (Facility A), which matures on 31 December 2018, and an AED 1,450 million senior term loan facility (Facility B), maturing on 31 March 2021, as well as an AED 450 million revolving credit facility (RCF) with a maturity date of 31 March 2021.

The refinancing has been consolidated into a smaller subset from Tabreed’s existing syndicate of banks, with ADCB, FGB and Mashreqbank acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers.

Jasim Husain Thabet, Tabreed’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “As a result of Tabreed’s robust utility business model, which is anchored in long-term, stable and recurring revenue streams, we have taken the opportunity to refinance our existing debt and strengthen our balance sheet. The new terms in the agreement are yet another endorsement of our company’s financial strength and positive future outlook.”

“The successful completion of this refinancing owes a great deal to the partnerships we have with all our existing financial institutions, who have been our critical partners over the past several years. In line with other utility infrastructure companies, we recognize the role of strong financial institutions as a key pillar to success, and we look forward to future collaboration opportunities.”

Thabet added: “2014 has been an excellent year for Tabreed and we have recently signed a number of exciting deals which underline Tabreed’s position as the market leader in the GCC and one of the district cooling industry’s leading companies.”

Driven by robust economic growth and increasing demand for district cooling across the region, Tabreed reached several critical milestones in 2014, including an AED 1.05 billion acquisition in a consortium with Mubadala Infrastructure Partners of the existing district cooling plant on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. The company also signed a long term concession agreement with Meraas Leisure and Entertainment to provide 45,600 tons of cooling to the new Dubai Parks and Resorts development in Jebel Ali, and has renewed its master services agreement with the UAE Armed Forces in a contract valued at AED 6 billion.

Today, Tabreed owns and operates 67 district cooling plants delivering over 938,800 tons of cooling to critical projects across the region ranging from Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island and Al Maryah Island, home to Ferrari World and Cleveland Clinic, respectively, to the Dubai Metro, the Pearl – Qatar, and the Jabal Omar Development Project in the Holy City of Mecca.