New syndicated banking loan of 294 million euros securing the refinancing of its credit lines until 2026

29 Jul 2024 18:33 CEST

New syndicated banking loan of 294 million euros
securing the refinancing of its credit lines until 2026

Voltalia (Euronext Paris, ISIN code: FR0011995588), an international player in renewable energies, announces the signing, on July 26, 2024, of a new corporate loan of 294 million euros with a consortium of 15 banks. This credit facility is currently being syndicated. It will increase its total amount beyond 294 million euros. It complements the other corporate syndicated loans, providing Voltalia with additional resources, to contribute to its development and the refinancing of its convertible bonds.

« This new syndicated bank loan extends the average maturity of our corporate financing and strengthens our financial flexibility to support growth. This operation demonstrates the trust of our banking partners, old and new, whom we warmly thank. This is an "impact" financing whose cost will be linked to the achievement of extra-financial objectives that we announced in September 2023 as a Mission-driven company », comments Sébastien Clerc, Chief Executive Officer of Voltalia.

The 294 million euros syndicated financing, with a maturity of 5 years, extendable to 7 years, is composed of a revolving credit facility of 176.4 million euros and a term loan of 117.6 million euros. The revolving credit benefits from a swingline and the term loan can be activated for a maximum period of two years, making their use more flexible.

This new financing consolidates the Group's financial flexibility, for example by making it possible to accelerate the construction of new power plants without waiting for the finalization of the financing of very long-term projects. In addition, it will contribute as much as necessary to the repayment of the convertible bonds issued in 2021 and 2022 when they mature in 2025, for a total of 250 million euros.

This funding finances activities contributing to climate change mitigation, in line with the EU taxonomy and aligned with decarbonisation objectives. The interest rate of this "impact" financing is subsidized if the following extra-financial performance objectives are achieved: occupational health and safety performance, reduction of CO₂ emissions and co-use of land. As a Mission-driven company, Voltalia wants its stakeholders, particularly banks, to support its extra-financial objectives.

The banking consortium is composed of fifteen bank partners:

• BNP Paribas, CACIB, Mizuho bank, Paris Branch and Natixis as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners.
• Piraeus Bank, as Mandated Arranger.
• Arkéa, CIC, La Banque Postale, Goldman Sachs, Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d'Ile de France, Banque Palatine, BRED Banque Populaire, Caisse d'Epargne et de Prévoyance de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Caisse d'Epargne et de Prévoyance Ile-de-France, Caisse d'Epargne et de Prévoyance Loire-Centre as Arrangers.

CACIB is the Documentation Agent, BNP Paribas is the Sustainability Coordinator and Natixis is the Facility Agent.

Voltalia was advised on this transaction by King & Spalding and Redbridge Debt & Treasury Advisory. The lenders were advised by Ashurst.

Next meeting: Half-year results 2024, September 5, 2024 (before market opens)

Attachment

• New syndicated banking loan of 294 million euros securing the refinancing of its credit lines until 2026