Textainer extends and increases loan

Textainer extends and increases loan    The world’s largest lessor of intermodal containers said it has increased the size of a key loan.
   Textainer Group Holdings Ltd. said its Textainer Marine Containers Ltd. subsidiary extended and increased the size of its securitization facility from $300 million to $475 million. The interest rate is 1.25 percent over LIBOR during an initial two-year revolving period. If the securitization facility is not refinanced or renewed during this two-year period, the interest rate will increase and the facility will stop revolving and begin amortizing over a term that is scheduled to be 10 years but not to exceed 15 years.
   The company said the deal was structured by Wachovia Capital Markets and that participants included Fortis Capital Corp, BTMU Capital Corp. HSH Nordbank AG, and ING Bank.
   “Given the current challenging conditions in the credit markets in general, and the asset-backed market in particular, we believe that the success of this transaction demonstrates the participating banks’ strong confidence in and commitment to Textainer,” said John Maccarone, Textainer’s president and chief executive officer.
   Textainer has a total fleet of more than 1.3 million containers, representing some 2 million TEUs. It leases containers to more than 400 shipping lines and other lessees, including each of the world’s top 20 container lines. Textainer is also the primary supplier of leased containers to the U.S. military.