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MADRID, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Creditor banks of Spanish thermalsolar power and electrical engineering firm Abengoa have agreed to inject 113 million euros ($123 million) into thecompany, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The short-term cash lifeline will help Abengoa, crippled byits debt-fuelled expansion into the clean energy business, totemporarily avert what would be Spain's biggest-ever bankruptcy.
The cash injection will allow the struggling firm to paysalaries and maintain current operations, the sources said.
The lenders will receive shares owned by Abengoa in AbengoaYield worth more than double the loan as a guarantee,the sources said, adding that Spain's official credit institutewould also participate in the loan with 8.7 million euros.
The guarantee relates to around 15 percent of Abengoa Yield,according to Reuters calculations.
Abengoa was unavailable for comment after repeated attemptsto contact the company while the steering committee representingits roughly 200 creditor banks worldwide declined to comment.
Although there is no official figure for the firm's totalfinancial liabilities, separate sources familiar with the mattersay they total at least 25 billion euros, 80 percent of whichsits with lenders such as Santander, HSBC andCredit Agricole.
An additional 100 million euros could be granted bycreditors next month if Lazard, which is advising Abengoa, putsforward a credible restructuring plan by Jan. 18, bankingsources told Reuters last week.
The company, which started out 70 years ago as a businessdesigning and producing electricity meters in Seville, southernSpain, is now a renewable energy giant operating mostly thermalsolar power plants in a dozen countries across four continents. ($1 = 0.9153 euros) (Reporting by Jose Elias Rodriguez and Jesus Aguado; Writing byJulien Toyer; Editing by Paul Day and Greg Mahlich)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)