Randgold secures $250 mln credit facility

LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - London-based gold miner Randgold Resources has secured a $250 million credit facility which it will receive if it wins the bid battle for Ghana's Ashanti, a source close to the situation said on Sunday.

The money will be provided by a consortium of five banks, including Britain's HSBC Holdings Plc , Germany's HVB Group and South Africa's Standard Bank Group Ltd, , the source told Reuters.

The bulk of the money -- around $139 million -- will be used to pay off Ashanti's debts, while at least $53 million will be needed to cover transaction fees, including advisers' fees, for the takeover battle, the source added.

Randgold declined to comment.

Randgold's all-share bid for Ashanti is currently worth about $1.5 billion, more than a rival offer from AngloGold Ltd, the world's second-biggest gold miner, which is currently worth around $1.3 billion.

AngloGold has argued that the much smaller Randgold does not have the financial clout to develop Ashanti's deep mines, centred around its flagship Obuasi operation.

"We came back and said we have got enough money," one source close to Randgold told Reuters.

Ashanti's board is due to meet on Tuesday for a formal discussion of Randgold's offer. AngloGold said on Friday there was "wriggle room" to increase its bid if Ashanti's board decided Randgold's bid was the best of the two currently on offer.