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Global Banking Syndicate Backs Frontera Energy Expansion in South America

Date: May 23, 2018 @ 07:14 AM
Filed Under: Energy

Frontera Energy Corporation announced the closing of a $100 million revolving letter of credit facility arranged by Itaú Corpbanca Colombia S.A., Citibank N.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., HSBC Mexico, S.A., Institución de Banca Multiple, Grupo Financiero HSBC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, funds of which, will be used to provide letters of credit to fund exploration and transportation commitments in Colombia and Peru.

The Credit Facility will replace the Company's current secured letter of credit facility, which has $81.9 million of used capacity as of March 31, 2018 and matures on June 22, 2018. The Credit Facility will allow Frontera to release collateral and reduce the Company's cost of funds. The Credit Facility has a maturity date of May 17, 2020.

The Credit Facility will have an initial term of up to eight months. Upon satisfaction of certain extension conditions, the term of the Credit Facility will be extended to a total term of two years. During the Initial Term, the Credit Facility will have substantially the same security, covenants and events of defaults as the Secured LC Facility and the Company's senior secured notes due 2021.

Upon satisfaction of the Extension Conditions, the Credit Facility will become an unsecured facility and the guarantors under the Credit Facility will be limited to the Company's principal subsidiaries.

"We are extremely pleased with the strong support received from our banking partners," said Gabriel de Alba, Chairman of Frontera. "To have closed this facility indicates the strength of our lender relationships and the confidence that they have in Frontera.  It's also testimony to this management team's accomplishments, transforming Frontera into a world-class oil and gas exploration company."

Richard Herbert, Chief Executive Officer, said, "The entering into of this facility, following rigorous due diligence performed by our lenders, validates the long-term viability of Frontera's strategy, operations and finances.  It's also a model for our agile approach to managing our capital structure, as well as operations. This transaction was only possible because of the teamwork and collaboration among our advisors and Frontera's legal, treasury, planning and corporate development teams, working between Colombia and Canada.  In particular, I want to congratulate Jorge Fonseca Chaumer, Frontera's Corporate Vice President, Business Development, for successfully leading this group effort."

David Dyck, Chief Financial Officer, added, "The new facility further strengthens our balance sheet, credit profile and long-term access to capital.  This gives us great confidence as we continue to position ourselves for growth in 2018."

Proskauer Rose LLP and McMillan LLP acted as legal counsel for the Company and Clifford Chance LLP acted for the Participating Banks in the negotiation and execution of the Credit Facility.

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