China National Chemical Corp. is seeking to borrow a total of $35 billion to help fund the purchase of Syngenta AG, in a potential record financing for a Chinese acquisition, Bloomberg reported. The Beijing-based company hired China Citic Bank International Ltd. to arrange a $15 billion loan facility, which will be fully guaranteed by ChemChina, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. ChemChina is scheduled to meet lenders this week about a separate $20 billion syndicated loan, according to an earlier e-mailed statement. ChemChina agreed to buy Syngenta for $43 billion earlier this month in a deal that will transform it into the world’s largest supplier of pesticides and agrochemicals. The planned loan dwarfs Chinese companies’ previous overseas acquisition financing and may stoke concerns about the nation’s businesses piling up debt in a push to buy foreign technology.
