IFR 03.21.2020

62 International Financing Review March 21 2020

COVESTRO NETS ESG-LINKED REFI

Material science group COVESTRO has signed a

€2.5bn revolving credit facility with a

margin linked to the company’s

environmental, social and governance

rating.

4HEûlNANCINGûWHICHûISûFORûANûINITIALûlVEû

years plus two one-year extension options,

replaces Covestro’s €1.5bn RCF, which

matures in September 2022.

The multicurrency RCF will provide a

liquidity reserve and can be used for

lNANCINGûPEAKS

4HEûRElNANCINGûPROVIDESû#OVESTROûWITHû

lNANCIALûmEXIBILITYûANDûINCREASEDûLIQUIDITYû

reserves.

The better Covestro’s ESG performance is,

the lower the interest margin paid on the

facility.

The RCF is being provided Covestro’s core

banks: Banco Santander, Bank of America,

BayernLB, BNP Paribas, Citigroup,

Commerzbank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank,

Helaba, ING, JP Morgan, Mizuho Bank, Morgan

Stanley, SMBC, Societe Generale and UniCredit.

VOITH PLACES SUSTAINABILITY-LINKED

SSD

Technology company VOITH has placed a

€400m Schuldscheindarlehen with an

interest rate that is adjusted in line with the

company’s sustainability performance.

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and UniCreditûCOMPRISESûMATURITIESûOFûlVEû

seven and 10 years.

The SSD will be used for general

corporate purposes, including the partial

RElNANCINGûOFûDEBT

4HEûlNANCINGûCLOSEDûSIGNIlCANTLYû

oversubscribed from a group of around 75

investors including international banks,

savings banks, development banks and

COOPERATIVEûINSTITUTIONSû4HEûlNANCINGûWASû

increased from a launch amount of €200m.

Voith is rated by ISS ESG at C+ with “Prime

Status” meaning it is one of the leading

companies in its industry sector in terms of

sustainable business, the company said.

In early 2019, the company tapped LBBW

for a bilateral loan with a guarantee

commission fee that is linked to the

company’s sustainability performance also

based on the ISS rating.

4HATûlNANCINGûINCLUDEDûAûREVOLVINGûCREDITû

facility and a guarantee facility.

ICELAND

MAREL DRAWS €600m

Food processing equipment maker MAREL

has drawn down €600m of the €700m

sustainability-linked revolving credit facility

it signed in February as a precautionary

measure in the wake of the coronavirus.

The drawdown will provide Marel with a

high cash position at the end of the quarter.

The company has seen record year-to-date

orders although logistic challenges due to

the spread of the virus means costs will be

higher.

4HEû2#&ûHASûAûlVE

YEARûMATURITYûWITHûTWOû

one-year extension options and pays an

initial margin of the facility is 80bp over

%URIBOR,IBORûVARYINGûINûLINEûWITHû-ARELSû

leverage levels and facility use.

Margins also reduce or increase

depending on Marel’s performance on a set

of agreed sustainability key performance

indicators.

ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Danske Bank,

HSBC, ING, Rabobank and UniCredit led the

lNANCINGû).'ûWASûSUSTAINABILITYûAGENT

IRELAND

C&C DRAWS DOWN REVOLVER

Cider and drinks company C&C GROUP has

fully drawn its existing €450m revolving

credit facility as the company’s on-trade

business to pubs and bars is disrupted by the

coronavirus pandemic.

The company is also looking to ensure

that further credit is available if required.

C&C is working to maximise cash,

maintain a strong liquidity position and

PROTECTûPROlTS

Other measures taken include a

SIGNIlCANTûREDUCTIONûINûCAPITALûEXPENDITUREû

the reduction of marketing spend and

prudent working capital management.

The company has welcomed the support

of government as is engaging with the Irish

and UK tax authorities to address upcoming

tax and duty liabilities.

The company also has a €200m non-

recourse, committed securitisation facility

that was 55% utilised as at February 29.

NETHERLANDS

KLM DRAWS DOWN STANDBY LINE

Airline KLM has drawn down a €665m

standby revolving credit facility in addition

to its parent AIR FRANCE-KLM‘s drawdown of its

€1.1bn RCF, which was announced on

March 13 as the group takes more measures

to protect itself from the coronavirus crisis.

+,-SûlNANCINGûWASûARRANGEDûINû-AYû

2018 via coordinators ABN AMRO and

Rabobank alongside BayernLB, Citigroup,

ICBC and ING as bookrunning mandated

lead arrangers.

BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Credit

Mutuel-CIC, HSBC and Lloyds Bank also

participated. Rabobank is facility agent.

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YEARûMATURITYû

with two one-year extension options.

Air France-KLM drew down its €1.1bn RCF

to increase liquidity as it sought to limit the

IMPACTûOFûTHEûVIRUSûONûITSûPROlTABILITYûANDû

PRESERVEûITSûlNANCIALûmEXIBILITY

4HEûlNANCINGûWASûDRAWNûDOWNûINûTWOû

tranches of €550m each. The drawn

tranches are renewable successively at the

request of Air France-KLM for periods of one,

three or six months until November 6 2022.

After the two drawdowns the group now

has more than €6bn of cash or cash

equivalent to meet possible changes in the

environment.

4HEûGROUPûWILLûCUTûmIGHTSûSIGNIlCANTLYû

over the next few days, with the number of

available seat kilometres potentially

decreasing by 70%–90%. The reduction is

scheduled to last two months.

Air France will ground its entire Airbus

ûmEETûANDû+,-ûITSûENTIREû"OEINGûûmEET

4HEûGROUPûHASûALSOûIDENTIlEDûCOSTûSAVINGSû

to generate €200m in 2020 and reduced its

capital expenditure plan by €350m.

Air France-KLM said it welcomed the

statements made by the French and Dutch

governments, which have said they are studying

all possible means to support the company.

TRAFIGURA CLOSES REFI

Global commodity trader TRAFIGURA has

COMPLETEDûTHEûANNUALûRElNANCINGûOFûITSû

53BNûmAGSHIPû%UROPEANûMULTICURRENCYû

revolving credit facility.

4HEûlNANCINGûONEûOFûAûFEWûWIDELYû

syndicated loans that come to the market

each year, closed successfully despite the

recent escalation of the coronavirus

outbreak, which has caused turmoil in

GLOBALûlNANCIALûMARKETS

4HEûRElNANCINGûCOMPRISESûAû53BNû

one-year RCF to replace a US$2.05bn one-

year RCF that was put in place in March

2019; and the amendment and extension of

a US$3.6bn three-year RCF.

Both tranches include two one-year

extension options.

The loan was supported by a syndicate of

51 banks led by Bank of China, ING, Rabobank,

Societe Generale and UniCredit Bank as

bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers.

NatWest and Standard Chartered Bank also

joined the facility as bookrunning mandated

lead arrangers.

ABN AMRO, Bank of America, China

Construction Bank, Citigroup, Commerzbank,

DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, ICBC, Mizuho Bank

and MUFG were mandated lead arrangers.

Credit Agricole CIB, JP Morgan and UBS

were senior lead arrangers while Banco

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