"The CFO team is working to get its final banks over the final credit line before Friday. This is tight and down to the wire," a banker close to the talks told Reuters.
Porsche is currently undergoing talks with the banks for both the 10 billion refinancing and the extra 2.5 billion euros, required for "general corporate purposes." The latter of their goals is considered "unclear," as the banks are trying to recover from losses caused last year, when Porsche drew down the 10 billion euro loan at low rates.
If it can't raise the extra amount by the time of the deadline, Porsche may choose to do so in a later round of negotiations. Their hopes are maintained by the prospects of gathering 1.5 billion euros from Japanese banks sometimes in April, when they may choose to join the loan after the end of their financial year.
At the beginning of the month, Porsche said talks of refinancing were on track, as they increased fees on the loan by 50 basis points to support the deal. The new loan's interest margin is of 275 basis point and it now pays fees of 250 points for banks that bring 1 billion euros and 200 for the ones who step in with 500 million euros.
Still, all eyes are on Porsche not because of their refinancing efforts, but because of the upcoming Panamera. We all now look to China, where the manufacturer will unveil the Panamera at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show.
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