#AbuDhabi's ADQ eyes around $1 billion loan to back Louis Dreyfus deal: sources | Reuters

Abu Dhabi's ADQ eyes around $1 billion loan to back Louis Dreyfus deal: sources | Reuters

Abu Dhabi state-owned ADQ is in talks with banks for a loan of about $1 billion that would back its acquisition of a 45% stake in commodities trader Louis Dreyfus Co (LDC), three sources said.

ADQ said last week it had signed an agreement to acquire an indirect 45% equity stake in LDC, in what would be the first outside investment in the family-owned commodity merchant’s 169-year-old history.

ADQ has been in talks with a group of lenders including Abu Dhabi and European banks for a loan of up to around $1 billion to back the proposed acquisition, two of the sources said.

Discussions have revolved around the structure of the financing, with the company initially looking to raise the loan on a non-recourse basis, said the two sources.