Kernel raises USD 260 mln short-term loan from ING & UniCredit

Kernel Group (WSE: KER PW) opened a short-term, USD 260 mln syndicated line of credit with ING Bank N.V. and UniCredit Bank AG to fund sunflower seed purchases for further processing and resale, the company announced yesterday. Ruslan Patlavskyy: We believe the company will utilize the funds raised to load recently acquired crushing capacity from Allseeds and indicates a high likelihood that this capacity will be consolidated into Kernel in the 2011 fiscal year. As a result of consolidation, we expect the company to enjoy an incremental USD 45 mln addition to its EBITDA, which we forecast to grow 55% y-o-y to USD 277 mln in 2011, boosted by higher forecasted grain prices for this year. Although the line of credit will expand Kernel’s forecasted total debt in 2011E by 52% y-o-y to USD 470 mln, its net debt-to-EBITDA should remain at a manageable 0.9x level.