BOGOTA,
Colombia, March 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol
S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) informs that, as part of its
comprehensive debt management and maturity refinancing strategy,
the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit ("MHCP"), through
Resolution 0652 of 20 March 2024, has
approved the execution of a loan of up to USD 1,200 million.
The loan will be executed by and among Ecopetrol, as borrower,
and Bank of Nova Scotia
(USD 300 million), BBVA Securities
Inc. (USD 250 million), Bank of
America, N.A. (USD 200 million),
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (USD 200
million), Itaú Chile New York Branch (USD 100 million) and Standard Chartered Bank Hong
Kong Limited (USD 150 million), as
lenders. The term of the loan will be five (5) years; principal
will be repaid at maturity; and interest will be subject to a
variable rate previously agreed by the parties.
The loan was approved by the MHCP, given Ecopetrol's request to
refinance the USD 1,200 million
outstanding under a previously-executed loan authorized by
Resolution 1824 of July 30, 2021, and
which expired on August 16, 2023.
Such loan authorized in 2021 was disbursed on September 29, 2022 to refinance the debt
contracted for the acquisition of Interconexión Eléctrica S.A.
In order to obtain the loan, the Company complied with all the
required internal and external procedures and approvals.
The terms of the loan confirm the support and confidence of the
international financial sector in the strategy of the Ecopetrol
Group.
Pursuant to Colombian regulation, the MHCP reviewed and
authorized the terms of the agreement, which provide for events of
default by the borrower, such as failure to make timely payments of
principal and interest, possible impairment of the borrower's
ability to pay, impairment of the integrity of the borrower's
financial information, and failure to comply with contractual
obligations, among others, which are frequently used in
transactions of this nature. Should any of these events
materialize, lenders would be entitled to claim early repayment of
the debt, according to the procedure foreseen in the contract.
Likewise, the loan agreement establishes Ecopetrol's right of
recourse against the lenders when they fail to make disbursements
under the terms of the loan. All of the above, in accordance with
the law of the State of New York,
which is the governing law of the agreement.
Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy
companies in the American continent with more than 18,000
employees. In Colombia, it is
responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most
transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it
holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution
segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the
company participates in energy transmission, the management of
real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the
international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in
the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in
the United States (Permian basin
and the Gulf of Mexico),
Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries,
Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission
business in Brazil, Chile, Peru,
and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications
sector.
This press release contains forward-looking statements which
are based on current expectations and assumptions about future
events and which can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect",
"anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "continue", or "believe" or
other words of similar import, and which forward-looking statements
also include certain projections, forecasts, budgets and other
estimates. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.
Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are
beyond the Ecopetrol's control. Ecopetrol does not undertake any
obligation to provide any additional information or to update this
press release or to correct any inaccuracies that may become
apparent, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press
release.
For more information, please contact:
Head of Capital Markets
Carolina Tovar Aragón
Email: investors@ecopetrol.com.co
Head of Corporate Communications (Colombia)
Marcela Ulloa
Email: marcela.ulloa@ecopetrol.com.co
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SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.