Investcorp has raised a five-year $200 million loan facility, higher than expected, after receiving strong support from international institutions. The loan was signed on 4 May by the group's Luxembourg operations (MEED 7:4:95).

This is the ninth medium-term facility Investcorp has raised since its formation in 1982, but it is the first five-year facility. The company says this was to extend the maturity of its medium-term borrowings.

'It was aimed to even out our maturity over the maturity ladder, rather than clustering borrowings,' says Elias Hallak, co-chief operating officer. By extending this year's facility, the company has ensured the firm will approach the market for refinancing each year, rather than twice in one year.

The facility was 'substantially' oversubscribed, Hallak says, which prompted Investcorp to raise the loan to $200 million, up from the original target figure of $150 million. The loan also attracted a number of new participants from previous occasions, he says.

The loan was arranged by: Bankers Trust International; Chemical Bank; The Bank of Tokyo; Natwest Capital Markets; Societe Generale; WestLB Group; Al Bank Al Saudi Al Fransi; The Arab Investment Company; Bank of Scotland; Chase Investment Bank; Deutsche Bank Group; Dresdner Bank; and Lloyds Bank. The facility agent is Chase Manhattan Bank.

The lead managers were Arab Banking Corporation, Credit Industriel et Commercial, Norddeutsche Landesbank Gironzentrale and The Royal Bank of Scotland.