deals
Eurofresh Beekman Coulter
Creating an Indonesian cooperative
BECKMAN developed a tailored ven-
CAPITAL of how intragroup bene
fits can spring from a
strategy of building longterm customer re-
lationships. 'Rabobank definitely opened
the door for us,' said Donald Flassing,
TMOdeal
Tate and Lyle
14 What's NewS Issue 1 January/February 2000
Over the last month, San Francisco
has been involvcd in two deals of
particular note. The first was for
Eurofresh, Inc., the leading North Ameri
can producer of hydroponically grown
greenhouse tomatoes. The company opcr-
ates 100 acres of state-of-the-art green
house facilities in Arizona, vvith plans to
expand to a total of 240 acres. On the
strength of our long term relationship
with the cliënt as well as our specific
agribusiness expertise, our San Francisco
office was asked by the borrower to join a
USD 65 million financing led by Bank of
America. The deal not only generates a
powerful ROS, and presents multiple
spinoff opportunities in the arca of deriva
tives and private placements,
but it also marks a further
suecess in hothouse pro-
duce, a target F&A sector.
The second deal was cap-
tured in cooperation with the
Rabobank Group leasing sub-
sidiary De Fage Fanden (DFL) Financial
Services and involved Beekman Coulter,
Ine (BCI), a world wide designer, manu-
facturer and marketer of laboratory
Rabobank will help to set
up a cooperative banking
system in Indonesia, assisting
the Indonesian Cooperative
Council (DFKOPIN) with both
expertise and technical support
to establish a cooperative that
will be based on the Rabobank
model. The program will help
the government achieve its
policy of increasing the role of
small and medium sized
businesses and cooperatives in
the Indonesian economy. We
will rnake our contribution
through Rabo International
Advisory Services (RIAS), our
consultancy subsidiary. In the
first instance, RIAS will concentrate on
identifying the needs in Indonesia and on
assessing the current state of affairs.
Indonesia has a large nurnber of coopera
tives, some of which are also engaged in
banking, even if there is no overarching
Gerard van Empel (left), director RIAS, Kweek Kian Gie,
Coordinating Minister for Economie Affairs, and H.A.M
Nurdin Haiid, President DEKOPtN sign the agreement.
instrument systems and related products
for the healthcare market. Based in Fuller-
ton, California, BCI has been a cliënt of
Rabobank International's lifc sciences arm
in healthcare since 1997. This month, De
Fage Landen successfully
dor finance program for
V^L/ULf trV the cliënt, in an exantple
Vice President of the healthcare group at
De Fage Landen Financial Services - US.
'With its international reputation and
capabilities, the bank played a pivotal role
in our winning the account.' The deal
represented a milestone for all partics, not
least because we managed to edge out
strong US compctition from such players
as Copelco and GE Capital. The program
covers all of BCI's North American diag-
nostic equipment, and a Furopean startup
of the program is foreseen for later this
year. DLL will provide marketing and
administrative support, fund all qualifying
buyer purchases, and assume the prepon-
derance of the default risk. Because of its
structure, the deal also qualifies for off-
balance sheet treatment. The program
should produce an initial annual sales
volume of USD 75 million, with this sunt
rising during the program five year life.
cooperative banking system. Our cliënt,
DEKOP1N, is the umbrella organization
of Indonesian cooperatives, most of which
are active in the agricultural field, as well
as fields such as housing, retail tradc,
and financial services for members.
Rabobank International's Turkish
operation in Istanbul has announced
an important USD 30 million grain
financing package arranged in coopera
tion with Rabobank London for the
Turkish State Grain Board (known as
TMO). TMO is not only Turkey's leading
grain purchaser and exporter, but a signif
icant force in world grain markets. The
financing requirements for a company
with such extensive purchasing commit-
ments to Turkish farmers is quite high: as
much as several hundred million USD per
season. To date, the crossborder funding
requirements have been met by syndicated
loans backed by Turkish Treasury guaran-
tees. However, there are limits to state
funds available to cover such guarantees.
This loan follows a larger initial trans
action agreed at the end of 1998, and it
demonstrates the tangible benefits of our
commitment to cultivating longterm cliënt
relationships. Both financings have been
secured against warehouse receipts.
In Dallas, we recently closed a financing
for the purchase of Tate and Lyle's 50%
partnership interest in a cattle liquid feed
supplement business located in Nebraska.
Rabobank's solution for the customer
included both senior revolving and term
debt (part of which will be syndicated),
subordinated debt, and interest rate
swaps. It is an excellent transaction both
from the gross revenue and ROS
perspectives, and has considerably en-
hanced our intimacy with this important
cliënt. The transaction team from our
North American operation included
Shane Bownds, Doug Muller, Wink Mora,
Pieter Kodde and Bruce Baccus.
Polly Coe, Nancy O'Connor and
Bob Mandula provided credit structuring
support and recommendations.