Aker identifies source of $80M private loan

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Inc. has entered into an agreement with Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. for a construction loan totaling $80 million, the shipyard said Wednesday in a filing on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

The private construction financing was announced in February, along with $42 million from Pennsylvania, and a commitment by Aker ASA, the Norwegian parent company, of $210 million to complete two ships which do not yet have buyers.

Under the agreement, Caterpillar will fund as much as $40 million for each of two product tankers being built for the shipyard's own account.

Aker previously said it received a commitment letter from a third-party lender and expected the transaction to close in the second quarter. The shipyard completed the loan documents Wednesday and disclosed the name of the lender. Without state money, and private construction financing, the Philadelphia shipyard might have closed.    - Linda Loyd