Agricultural Bank of China contributes to a £515 million GBP syndicated loan for Lidl Great Britain Limited and Lidl Nederland GmbH for unspecified purposes (Linked to Record ID#101985, #101987, #101988, and #101989)

Project narrative

In January 2020, a syndicate of 14 lenders — including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), the Bank of China (BOC), Bank of Communications (BoComm), and China CITIC Bank — entered into a £515 million GBP-equivalent syndicated loan agreement with Lidl Great Britain Limited — an England-incorporated food retailer wholly owned by immediate parent Germany-incorporated Lidl U.K. GmbH and ultimate parent and controlling party is Germany-incorporated international discount supermarket chain Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG — and Lidl Nederland GmbH — a Netherlands-incorporated food retailer and subsidiary of Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG — for unspecified purposes. This loan was a dual-currency unsecured loan with a maturity period of five years, divided into a £386 million GBP ($502 million USD) tranche and a $168 million USD tranche. The lenders had the option to loan to either subsidiary, but the final split was even between the two subsidiaries. Record ID#101985 captures ICBC's contribution. Record ID#101986 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#101987 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#101988 captures BoComm's contribution. Record ID#101989 captures China CITIC Bank's contribution. In addition to the Chinese state-owned banks, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Bank of Taiwan, First Commercial Bank, Hua Nan Commercial Bank (HNCB), Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Mega International Commercial Bank (Amsterdam), Mega International Commercial Bank (London), Bank of East Asia Limited (BEA), Taiwan Cooperative Bank, and Taichung Commercial Bank. ICBC served as co-ordinator, arranger, and bookrunner. ABC, BOC, BoComm, and China CITIC Bank served as senior lead arrangers. Bank of Taiwan, First Commercial, HNCB, Chang Hwa, and Mega International Commercial served as lead arrangers. BEA, Taiwan Cooperative, and Taichung Commercial served as arrangers. The loan was marketed exclusively to Asian lenders and was the borrower's first foray into Asian capital markets.