Australian surfwear Billabong International Ltd. lost HSBC Holdings Plc as a syndicated lender. This was after the bank sold a portion of a loan to a specialized investment firm. This was according to one person familiar with the matter. Billabong International sought to refinance the company's debt but lost a supposed to be loan after takeover talks ended.

HSBC sold around US$20 million of multicurrency debt at a 20% discount. This was to par SC Lowy Financial HK Ltd said one source asking not to be named because the deal was private. The source did not say whether Hong Kong based SC Lowy bought the loan on behalf of the client or for its proprietary account.

The Australian based retailer stated earlier this month that it was holding refinancing and asset sale discussions with Sycamore Partners Management and Altamont Capital Partners. This was after the takeover discussions with the two suitors ended. The company released a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange today stating that the net proceeds would be used to repay Billabong's existing syndicated debt in full.