IFC to arrange US$216m debt financing for San Jacinto on behalf of Ram Power
Alexander Richter
18 Nov 2009
IFC is to arrange the US$ 216 million debt financing for the extension of the San-Jacinto Tizate geothermal project on behalf of Polaris Geothermal, fully owned subsidiary of Ram Power Corp.
According to a company release, “Ram Power, Corp. (TSX: RPG), and its wholly owned subsidiary, Polaris Geothermal Inc (“PGI”), announced that they have executed a Mandate Letter with the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), a member of the World Bank Group, under which IFC has proposed to arrange the debt financing for the US $216M Phase II of the San Jacinto Tizate Geothermal Project (“the Project”) in Nicaragua.
Under the non-binding terms of the Mandate Letter, IFC proposes to lend up to $40M for its own account and arrange for the balance on a syndicated basis. IFC has also indicated that it may consider providing an additional $20M in mezzanine debt or possible equity to the Project. The proposed timetable is for financial close to take place by June 2010. IFC’s role and financing are subject to approval by IFC’s Board of Directors.
Hezy Ram, CEO of Ram Power, Corp., said “We are very excited at the prospect of having the IFC as the lead for the debt financing of Phase II of the Project. With the use of Ram Power’s corporate equity, we have full confidence that we can expeditiously complete the construction and commissioning of the full 72 MW facilities by 2011 in satisfaction of our commitments under the Project’s Power Purchase and Concession Agreements.” He went on to say, “We are very proud to be the developer and operator of this state of the art geothermal project which will be the largest operating project in Nicaragua.”
Source: Company announcement
