A consortium of banks today signed an agreement to release US$80 million in financing to the CMA CGM Group, the carrier said in a statement.

The financing is part of the restructuring of the French line??s $5.6 billion debt, that saw founder Jacques Saade standing down as chief executive last year.

This financing is part of the overall restructuring plan whose negotiations are proceeding normally and which calls in particular for the grant of a US$500 million cash facility,?? the statement said.

The carrier said group operations were continuing to show strong improvement month after month.

CMA CGM has been aggressively trying to pare down its huge debt burden, which was not helped by an equally huge orderbook. The carrier is trying to cancel 15 of 45 container ships ordered from South Korean yards and delay the delivery of 15 others.