“A European bank – sources pointed to Lloyds Banking Group – is understood to be the seller with its position estimated to be worth more than $100 million,” the Australian Financial Review reported yesterday.
“Westpac Banking Corp, one of the original lenders to WICET, excluded the project's debt from a package of loans it bought from Lloyds in 2013.”
The WICET consortium reportedly carried about $2.45 billion of senior debt and $500 million in subordinated debt.
The WICET terminal finally started exporting in late April, although there is uncertainty around some of the coal companies in the WICET consortium.
How the collapse of WICET member Bandanna Energy last year plays out is one of the unknowns.
Its administrators have appointed Macquarie Capital to sell the business and ICN understands that expressions of interest were sought on Monday with interested parties to have two months to make binding bids in what is a very difficult coal market.
London-based Lloyds is not commenting on the AFR report.
