Bank of Communications contributes to €11 billion EUR syndicated revolving credit facility to Daimler AG for refinancing purposes

Project narrative

On or before July 17, 2018, a syndicate of 35 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC), Bank of Communications (BoComm), China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB), and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into a €11 billion EUR syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Daimler AG — a Germany-incorporated multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange — for refinancing purposes. The RCF carried a maturity period of five years with two one-year extension options. The lenders were entitled to terminate the RCF if Daimler AG became a subsidiary of another company or came under the control of one person or several persons acting jointly. The proceeds were to be used to renew (refinance) an existing €9 billion EUR credit line and to serve as a liquidity buffer. Record ID#100932 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#100933 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#100935 captures CCB's contribution. Record ID#100934 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to the Chinese state-owned banks, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, MUFG Bank, Ltd., UniCredit SpA, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA (BBVA), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), Barclays Bank, Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB), Commerzbank AG, Crédit Agricole SA, Goldman Sachs Group, HSBC Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Lloyds Bank, Mizuho Bank, RBC Capital Markets, Banco Santander, Société Générale SA (SocGen), Standard Chartered Bank plc, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), TD Securities Inc., Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), DBS Bank Ltd., DZ Bank AG, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba), ING Group, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB), and Wells Fargo Bank. BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, MUFG, and UniCredit served as coordinators. BBVA, BAML, BOC, BoComm, Barclays, BayernLB, CCB, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, ICBC, JP Morgan, LBBW, Lloyds Bank, Mizuho, RBC Capital Markets, Santander, Société Générale, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and TD Securities served as bookrunners. ANZ, DBS Bank, DZ Bank, Helaba, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, SEB, and Wells Fargo served as mandated lead arrangers. In 2019, the lending syndicate — including the Chinese state-owned banks — entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower; in the amendment, the lenders extended the maturity by the RCF by one year — a new maturity period of six years — to mature in 2024, in line with the first amendment option. Record ID#110584 captures BOC's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#110585 captures BoComm's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#110586 captures CCB's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#110587 captures ICBC's contribution to the debt rescheduling. In 2020, the lending syndicate — including the Chinese state-owned banks — entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower; in the amendment, the lenders extended the maturity by the RCF by one year — a new maturity period of seven years — to mature in 2025, in line with the second amendment option. Record ID#110590 captures BOC's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#110591 captures BoComm's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#110592 captures CCB's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#110593 captures ICBC's contribution to the debt rescheduling. In October 2022, the lending syndicate — still including BOC, BoComm, CCB, and ICBC — entered into an amendment with Mercedes-Benz Group AG (the new name for Daimler AG) to convert the €11 billion EUR RCF into a sustainability-linked loan, with three or four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) linked to Mercedes's Ambition 2039 plan focusing on climate production and reducing its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, including one about the fully electric vehicles vehicles in the global Mercedes-Benz fleet, achievement of which would reduce the commitment fee. As of December 31, 2022, the RCF still had not been utilized. As of December 31, 2023, the RCF had not been utilized. In June 2024, a syndicate of 32 banks entered into a €11 billion EUR syndicated credit facility with Mercedes-Benz. The facility carried a maturity period of five years. The proceeds of the facility were to refinance the existing RCF.