Agricultural Bank of China contributes to a €1.25 billion EUR syndicated sustainability-linked revolving credit facility to Koninklijke FrieslandCampina for refinancing and working capital purposes (Linked to Record ID#102980, #103789, and #103790)

Project narrative

On April 24, 2014, a syndicate of banks — including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — signed a €1.5 billion EUR ($2.07 billion USD) syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Koninklijke FrieslandCampina N.V. (Royal FrieslandCampina) — a Dutch multinational dairy cooperative based in Amersfoort, Netherlands — for refinancing and operational purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of April 2019 and a variable interest rate. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance an existing €1 billion EUR RCF signed in November 2011 maturing in August 2015 and for operational purposes. Record ID#102165 captures ICBC's contribution. As of December 31, 2014, €700 million EUR was outstanding under the RCF. In April 2015, the lending syndicate entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower; in this amendment, the lenders extended the maturity period of the loan by one year — for a new maturity period of six years — for a new final maturity date of April 2020. Record ID#103785 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. As of December 31, 2015, €650 million EUR was outstanding under the RCF. In April 2016, the lending syndicate entered into another amendment agreement with the borrower; in this amendment, the lenders extended the maturity period of the loan by one year — for a new maturity period of seven years — for a new final maturity date of April 2021. Record ID#103786 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. As of December 31, 2016, €250 million EUR was outstanding under the RCF. On October 26, 2017, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of banks — including ICBC — entered into a €1 billion ($1.16 billion USD) syndicated RCF agreement with Koninklijke FrieslandCampina N.V. for refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years and two one-year extension options. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance its existing €1.5 billion EUR RCF dated April 24, 2014 and for general use and coverage for its Euro Commercial Paper Programme. ICBC committed $58.92 million USD to the loan syndicate. Record ID#102967 captures ICBC's contribution. As of December 31, 2017, €50 million EUR was outstanding under the RCF. In the second half of 2018, the lending syndicate entered into another amendment agreement with the borrower; in this amendment, the lenders extended the maturity period of the loan by one year — for a new maturity period of six years — for a new final maturity date of October 2023. Record ID#103787 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. As of December 31, 2018, €20 million EUR was outstanding under the RCF. In the second half of 2019, the lending syndicate entered into another amendment agreement with the borrower; in this amendment, the lenders extended the maturity period of the loan by one year — for a new maturity period of seven years — for a new final maturity date of October 2024. Record ID#103788 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. As of December 31, 2019, €10 million EUR was outstanding under the RCF. As of December 31, 2020, €10 million EUR was outstanding under the RCF. As of December 31, 2021, nothing was outstanding under the RCF. In October 2022, a syndicate of 13 banks — including the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) and ICBC — entered into a €1.25 billion EUR syndicated sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Koninklijke FrieslandCampina N.V. (Royal FrieslandCampina) — a Dutch multinational dairy cooperative based in Amersfoort, Netherlands — for refinancing and working capital purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years with two 364-day extension options. As a sustainability-linked RCF, this loan assessed the borrower's annual performance against four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) linked to FrieslandCampina's existing climate, sustainability, and nutritional targets. Two KPIs focused on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for scopes 1, 2, and 3, as validated by SBTi and two other KPIs focused on making packaging recyclable and improving the nutritional value of FrieslandCampina’s products in compliance with the FrieslandCampina Global Nutritional Standards. The borrower's performance against the KPIs featured a pricing adjustment, with meeting the standard leading to reduced interest costs of the borrower. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to replace and refinance its €1 billion EUR RCF which was due to mature in October 2024 and to support its working capital needs. Record ID#102979 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#102980 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to ABC and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: ING Bank N.V., MUFG Bank (Europe) N.V., HSBC Bank PLC, ABN Amro Bank N.V., BNP Paribas S.A., Citibank N.A., Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., UniCredit S.p.A., and Standard Chartered Bank PLC. ING Bank and MUFG Bank (Europe) served as coordinators. HSBC served as sustainability coordinator. Rabobank served as facility agent. As of December 31, 2022, the RCF had not been utilized. In the second half of 2023, the lending syndicate entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower; in this amendment, the lenders extended the maturity period of the loan by one year — for a new maturity period of six years — for a new final maturity date of October 2028, in line with the first amendment agreement. Furthermore, the borrower voluntarily cancelled €250 million EUR of commitments, lowering the face value to €1 billion EUR. Record ID#103789 captures ABC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. Record ID#103790 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. As of December 31, 2023, the RCF had not been utilized.