Bank of America is close to completing syndication of a E185 million loan to Frigoscandia, the European cold storage business of ProLogis Trust. B of A will hold E31.5 million whileABN Amro will probably hold E46.5 million, according to John Lamb, managing director. The remainder of the loan will be split among Commerzbank, acting as syndication agent, Société Générale, as documentation agent, and Svenska Handelsbanken. ProLogis officials did not return calls.
B of A stepped in to provide the loan after Barclays Bank abandoned it, Lamb said, declining to elaborate. "Bank of America has provided financing in connection with ProLogis' European acquisitions over the past several years," saidDon Benningfield, managing director and head of syndicated capital markets for real estate, lodging and leisure at B of A. Indeed, the bank provided the Aurora, Colo., real estate investment trust with the original bridge loan used to acquire Frigoscandia. A Barclay's spokesman could not comment by press time.
The unsecured bridge loan is priced at LIBOR plus 9%. ProLogis, which is selling off a portion of its cold storage business, required the short-term financing while its capital requirements were being fleshed out, Lamb said. "[ProLogis is] potentially downsizing their credit needs," he said, noting that it will likely reduce the size of the line after receiving additional capital from sales. The company is in the process of selling off its operations in Germany, he added. The loan will be administered out of B of A's London office.