Mandate Letter with Financial Institutions Executed by Stornoway Diamond Corp.

Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX:SWY) announced that it has entered into a Mandate Letter with seven financial institutions for potential senior debt financing for the Renard Diamond Project.

As quoted in the press release:

The Mandated Lead Arrangers are Bank of Montreal, Caterpillar Financial, Export Development Canada, Investissement Québec, Nedbank Capital Limited (London Branch), Société Générale (Canada Branch) and The Bank of Nova Scotia. The Mandate Letter establishes the terms under which the Mandated Lead Arrangers have been appointed to arrange senior loans of up to US$475 million. It does not constitute a commitment to underwrite, provide or secure financing, which remains subject to due diligence, the completion of definitive loan documentation, credit and other approvals, and the terms and conditions of the term sheet attached to the Mandate Letter, among other things.

Stornoway President and CEO Matt Manson said:

Our objective in financing Renard is to minimize the capital that has to be raised to construct the project, and to minimize the equity portion of that capital. The Mandate Letter announced today is an excellent first step in this direction, and reflects well on the strength of the project and the credentials of Stornoway’s operating team. We continue to be greatly assisted by the support of our principal shareholders, in particular DIAQUEM Inc., a subsidiary of Investissement Québec, with whom we entered into a $100 million credit support agreement in April 2011 and who hold a 25% pre-emptive right to subscribe to new equity. With our principal regulatory approvals expected shortly, financing arrangements proceeding and road construction ongoing, Stornoway is well positioned to follow-through on the development of Renard starting next year.

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