Galaxy Entertainment Group has announced the closing of a six-year, HK$9 billion club loan from a consortium of leading banks in Asia. The loan is expected to fully fund the group’s Galaxy Macau development in Cotai, Macau.

The Loan Market Association defines a “club loan” as “a loan where a group of lenders agrees to take and hold an asset at the outset of the transaction with no intention of reducing their commitments through subsequent syndication.”

On April 12, Galaxy announced the club loan had been oversubscribed at HK$8.8 billion. The amount was upsized to HK$9 billion with strong support from the participating banks. The participating banks also undertook to “take and hold” the loan with no sell-down requirement.

As collateral, the group has put up its StarWorld Hotel and Galaxy Macau. Quarterly repayments of 1 percent of the aggregate loan outstanding are to commence on the 30th month post-signing, gradually escalating up to 5 percent of aggregate loan outstanding, with a balloon of 49 percent at maturity.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.