EDF's 11 bln pound loan to launch imminently

LONDON (Reuters) - An 11 billion-pound loan backing French state-controlled utility EDF's (EDF.PA) acquisition of UK nuclear operator British Energy BGY.L is expected to launch to senior syndication later on Thursday, bankers close to the deal said.

The addition of a new jumbo loan will further stretch the European syndicated loan market. Liquidity has been hit hard by the global financial crisis and the market is already struggling to digest up to $94.5 billion of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) loans for companies such as InBev INTB.BR, Schaeffler and Gas Natural (GAS.MC).

Loan pricing is spiralling as banks try to attract scarce liquidity and pass increased funding costs on to borrowers. Sterling is a relatively illiquid lending currency, bankers said, with the cost of three-month interbank sterling borrowing high at 6.2775 percent.

EDF is 84.8 percent state-owned and is rated AA- by Standard & Poor's and Fitch and Aa1 by Moody's.

Despite this, the company is expected to pay a high initial margin of more than 100 basis points over LIBOR due to the current market dislocation, two bankers said.

The French utility paid an initial margin of 12.5 basis points over EURIBOR when it tapped the syndicated loan market in 2005 for a 6 billion-euro ($8.37 billion) refinancing.

The current loan is being arranged by bookrunners and underwriters Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Calyon, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale.

The arrangers will be targetting a range of senior banks to participate as mandated lead arrangers, a banker said.

"EDF has a very attractive global footprint and there is a varied number of banks we're going to go to. I'm sure if people want to step up for a big ticket they will be welcome to do so," another banker said.