LONDON (BLOOMBERG) - Glencore Plc, the Swiss commodities trader and miner run by billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, said it signed new loan commitments to replace an existing US$8.45 billion (S$11.8 billion) revolving credit facility.

It received commitments for US$8.4 billion in the first phase of syndication, an increase from 37 senior banks of almost US$3 billion above existing levels, according to a statement from the company on Wednesday.

Glencore signed US$7.7 billion of those commitments and plans to broaden the refinancing through a general syndication to about 30 additional banks in the second quarter of this year, it said. The new unsecured facility contains a 12-month extension option and a 12-month borrower's term-out option, extending the final maturity to May 2018.

The bookrunners on the deal were ABN Amro Group NV, HSBC Holdings Plc, ING Groep NV, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. and Banco Santander SA.

Peter Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, is a senior independent non-executive director at Glencore.