RLPC-OMV Finance Ltd 1.25 bln euro loan launched

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - Syndication of a 1.25 billion euro syndicated loan for OMV Finance Ltd, a subisidiary of Austrian industrial conglomerate OMV Aktiengesellschaft OMV.VI, has been launched to a wider syndication, the arranging banks said on Thursday.

The credit is being arranged by ABN AMRO, Bank Austria Creditanstalt, Barclays Capital, JP Morgan and Societe Generale and is structured as a three-year revolving credit.

The facility, which is being used for general corporate purposes, is guaranteed by OMV Aktiengesellschaft, the largest oil and gas group in Central Europe.

The loan is separate from a jumbo acquisition loan OMV announced in September backing its $20 billion battle to take over Hungarian peer MOL MOLB.BU which remains unresolved. OMV has said that it will not raise its offer for MOL and has no intention of selling a 20 percent stake. The new loan for OMV Finance Ltd will pay an interest margin of 50 basis points over EURIBOR and will be based on a net debt to earnings grid, or a ratings grid if OMV gets a credit rating.

A commitment fee of 32.5 b.p. is payable if the loan is unused and a utilisation fee of 5 bps will also be paid if drawing on the loan exceeds more than 42 million euros, rising to 10 b.p. if more than 83 million euros is used.

Banks are being asked to commit 100 million euros for an arranger title and 30 b.p. fee and 50 million euros for a co-arranger title and 25 b.p. fee.

A bank presentation will be held in Vienna on April 30.

(Reporting by Tessa Walsh; editing by Rory Channing)