CFC Leads $350M Syndication for Great River Energy

CFC and Great River Energy (GRE) recently closed an amend and extend transaction for a $350 million, five-year unsecured revolving credit facility. Through the transaction, the Maple Grove, Minnesota-based generation and transmission cooperative was able to increase the size of the facility from $300 million to $350 million and extend the maturity date to five years from closing, or March 2029. GRE will use the funds on an interim basis to finance its ongoing capital expenditures, which are currently focused on transmission projects and its own power supply evolution.

“With significant growth projected in our future capital expenditures, we saw a need to increase both the commitment amount and term of our current credit facility to achieve our strategic objectives,” GRE CFO Michelle Strobel said. “The strength of our banking relationships, market conditions and comparable transactions at the time also supported the changes we were looking to make.”

All five existing lenders, including CFC, participated in the transaction and increased their commitments. 

“CFC is a trusted partner who knows our cooperative and our long-term objectives,” Strobel said. “Coupling that familiarity with their market expertise, the CFC team helped us put together and execute on a transaction plan that will now help to service Great River Energy’s member-owners through the end of the decade.” 

GRE decided to complete the transaction now because it was able to add a level of certainty to its future financial plans. Strobel added, “We also now have more flexibility with how we plan our long-term debt issuances, including the ability to take action when market conditions are favorable and exercise patience during market disruptions.”

Since 2005, CFC has completed more than $32.4 billion of syndicated loan transactions for electric cooperatives.

GRE provides wholesale electricity and services to 27 electric cooperatives across Minnesota.