HOUSTON, Feb. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheniere
Energy Partners, L.P. ("Cheniere Partners") (NYSE MKT: CQP)
announced today that it has closed on the previously announced
approximately $2.8 billion of senior
secured credit facilities. The four-year credit facilities consist
of an approximately $450 million
Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline, L.P. ("CCTP") tranche term loan, an
approximately $2.1 billion Sabine
Pass LNG, L.P. ("SPLNG") tranche term loan, and an approximately
$240 million revolving credit
facility. Pricing for these facilities is London Interbank Offered
Rate (LIBOR) plus 225 basis points or the base rate plus 125 basis
points, in each case with a 50 basis point step-up beginning on the
third anniversary of the closing.
Proceeds from these new credit facilities will be used by
Cheniere Partners (i) to prepay the $400
million senior secured term loan at CCTP, (ii) to redeem or
repay the approximately $1.7 billion
senior secured notes due 2016 and the $420
million senior secured notes due 2020 that were issued by
SPLNG, (iii) to pay associated transaction costs and make-whole
amounts, if any, and (iv) for general business purposes of Cheniere
Partners and its subsidiaries.
"We are pleased to announce the closing of these credit
facilities, which allow us to efficiently refinance upcoming
maturities at SPLNG and CCTP. In addition, this refinancing
improves our debt maturity profile as subsequent to the repayment
of our obligations at SPLNG and CCTP, the earliest debt maturity at
Cheniere Partners is in 2020," said Neal
Shear, Chairman of the Board and interim CEO of Cheniere
Partners.
The 16 arrangers and other participants are The Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., ABN AMRO Capital USA LLC, Société Générale, Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China Limited, New
York Branch, Intesa Sanpaolo, S.P.A. New York Branch, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.,
Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui
Banking Corporation, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., Bank of
America, N.A., Credit Suisse, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce,
New York Branch, ING Capital LLC,
and FirstBank Florida.
Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, SPLNG, Cheniere Partners
owns 100 percent of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal located on the
Sabine-Neches Waterway less than four miles from the Gulf Coast.
The Sabine Pass LNG terminal includes existing infrastructure of
five LNG storage tanks with capacity of approximately 16.9 billion
cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), two docks that can accommodate
vessels with nominal capacity of up to 266,000 cubic meters and
vaporizers with regasification capacity of approximately 4.0 Bcf/d.
Through its wholly-owned subsidiary CCTP, Cheniere Partners also
owns a 94-mile pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG
terminal with a number of large interstate pipelines.
Cheniere Partners, through its subsidiary, Sabine Pass
Liquefaction, LLC ("SPL"), is developing and constructing natural
gas liquefaction facilities at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal
adjacent to the existing regasification facilities. Cheniere
Partners, through SPL, plans to construct over time up to six
liquefaction trains, which are in various stages of development.
Each liquefaction train is expected to have a nominal production
capacity of approximately 4.5 million tonnes per annum ("mtpa") of
LNG. SPL has entered into six third-party LNG sale and purchase
agreements ("SPAs") that in the aggregate equate to approximately
19.75 mtpa of LNG and commence with the date of first commercial
delivery of Trains 1 through 5 as specified in the respective SPAs.
For additional information, please refer to the Cheniere Partners
website at www.cheniere.com and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2015,
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements that may include
"forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements
of historical facts, included herein are "forward-looking
statements." Included among "forward-looking statements" are, among
other things, (i) statements regarding Cheniere Partners' business
strategy, plans and objectives, including the development,
construction and operation of liquefaction facilities, (ii)
statements regarding expectations regarding regulatory
authorizations and approvals, (iii) statements expressing beliefs
and expectations regarding the development of Cheniere Partners'
LNG terminal and liquefaction business, (iv) statements regarding
the business operations and prospects of third parties, (v)
statements regarding potential financing arrangements, and (vi)
statements regarding future discussions and entry into contracts.
Although Cheniere Partners believes that the expectations reflected
in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve
assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may
prove to be incorrect. Cheniere Partners' actual results could
differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking
statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those
discussed in Cheniere Partners' periodic reports that are filed
with and available from the Securities and Exchange Commission. You
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Other than as required under the securities laws, Cheniere Partners
does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking
statements.
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SOURCE Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P.