Fortescue lifts credit extension by $500 million

Australian iron ore titan Fortescue Metals Group (ASE:FMG) has increased the size of its credit facility by USD$500 million.

Sky News reports that the company obtained a credit facility of USD$4.5 billion last month to defer looming debt repayments until November 2015.

The increase lifts the company’s credit facility to USD$5 billion in total, and is believed to be accompanied by a reduced interest rate of 4.25 percentage points.

The credit facility is being jointly provided by a consortium of the world’s leading investment banks, including Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, ANZ, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and UBS.

Fortescue’s share price took a battering in August on depressed iron ore prices and its onerous debt burden, which finally compelled company founder Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest to raise his stake in the company by AUD$39 million.

Fortescue shares gained 2.57% in Friday trading to close at AUD$3.85.