EWE signs €850 million revolving credit facility

Oldenburg, 8 May 2006. EWE AG has now signed a new €850 million syndicated Revolving Credit Facility. The facility, which carries a seven-year tenor, will be used for general corporate purposes. The deal was launched at €750 million, however following a highly successful syndication that ended in excess of more than 100% oversubscribed, EWE has opted to increase the facility amount to €850 million. At the same time all banks in the syndicate were substantially scaled back from their initial commitments.

Barclays Capital (the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC), Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (the investment banking division of Dresdner Bank AG), HSBC Bank plc and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc acted as Bookrunners and Mandated Lead Arrangers for the transaction. The syndicate comprises a total of 21 banks, including domestic, international and investment banks. The facility will act as EWE’s core committed bank financing, and it is intended that the syndicate for the transaction will define the company’s core relationship bank group going forward.

The initial margin is set at 15bp p.a. over EURIBOR for the first five years, increasing to 17.5bp p.a. in years six and seven. A 2.5bp utilisation fee is payable if usage exceeds 50% of the facility amount. The commitment fee is set at 30% of the applicable margin. Arrangers were offered a participation fee of 6.5bp for a €75 million ticket and Co-Arrangers 5.5bp for €50 million. “These highly favourable terms reflect our excellent relationships with our core banks, which respect EWE's solid financial structure and strong position in the German utility sector" explained EWE CFO Michael Wagener.