Bank of China contributes to the 2020 €2.5 billion EUR sustainability-linked syndicated revolving credit facility to Michelin for general corporate purposes (Linked to Record ID#102985, #103414, and #103415)

Project narrative

On July 12, 2011, a syndicate of 21 banks — including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — signed a €1.5 billion EUR syndicated multicurrency revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Compagnie Financière Michelin SCmA — a Switzerland-incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA, a French multinational tire manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région — for general corporate purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years with two one-year extension options. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower for general corporate purposes and to refinance and replace Michelin's previous 2005-2012 €1.5 billion EUR syndicated facility. Record ID#101727 captures ICBC's contribution. In July 20, 2012, the lending syndicate entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower for the €1.5 billion EUR RCF. On December 10, 2014, the lending syndicate — still including ICBC — entered into another amendment agreement with the borrower for the €1.5 billion EUR RCF; in this amendment agreement, the lending syndicate extended the maturity period of the €1.5 billion EUR by five years — for a new maturity period of eight years — to 2019, with two one-year extension options for the RCF. Record ID#103403 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. In 2015, the lending syndicate — still including ICBC — entered into an another amendment agreement with the borrower; in the amendment agreement, the lenders extended the maturity period of the €1.5 billion EUR by one year — for a new maturity period of nine years — and 2020 as the new final maturity date, in line with the extension option. Record ID#103404 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. In 2016, the lending syndicate — still including ICBC — entered into an another amendment agreement with the borrower; in the amendment agreement, the lenders extended the maturity period of the €1.5 billion EUR by one year — for a new maturity period of ten years — and 2021 as the new final maturity date, in line with the extension option. Record ID#103405 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. Then, on October 16, 2020, a syndicate of 19 lenders — including the Bank of China (BOC) and ICBC — entered into a €2,500,000,000 EUR sustainability-linked syndicated RCF agreement with Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA for general corporate and refinancing purposes. The loan carried a maturity period of three years with two one-year extension options at each lender's discretion. As a sustainability-linked RCF, this loan featured a corporate social responsibility (CSR) clause with a number of Sustainability Performance Targets, namely the percentage of engagement of Michelin's employees, the reduction of Michelin's Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions, and the reduction of the environmental impact of Michelin sites; depending on the number of targets achieved by the borrower, the margin of the interest rate would increase or decrease. This RCF was amended on December 17, 2021. The proceeds of this loan were to be used for liquidity purposes, namely as a back-up facility to facilitate Michelin's expansion and to replace and refinance the 2011 €1.5 billion EUR syndicated RCF. Record ID#102984 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#102985 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to BOC and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: BNP Paribas S.A., HSBC France S.A., Banco Santander, S.A., Citibank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB), Deutsche Bank, Natixis, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SGCIB), The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Morgan Stanley, National Westminster Bank Plc (NatWest), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), UniCredit S.p.A., CM-CIC, and Mizuho Corporate Bank. BNP Paribas, HSBC France, Banco Santander, Citibank, CACIB, Deutsche Bank, Natixis, SGCIB, and BTMU served as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, NatWest, SMBC, and UniCredit served as mandated lead arrangers. BOC, ICBC, BA.ML, CM-CIC, and Mizuho Corporate served as arrangers. BNP Paribas was mandated as Documentation Agent. HSBC France was mandated as Facility Agent and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) coordinator. Syndication was launched on September 14, 2020 and close largely oversubscribed On December 17, 2021, the lending syndicate — still including BOC and ICBC — entered into an amendment agreement with the borrower; in the amendment agreement, the lenders extended the maturity period of the €2.5 billion EUR RCF by one year — for a new maturity period of four years — and 2024 as the new final maturity date, in line with the first extension option. Record ID#103414 captures BOC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. Record ID#103415 captures ICBC's contribution to this debt rescheduling. Then, on May 23, 2022, the same syndicate of 19 lenders — still including BOC and ICBC — entered into another €2,500,000,000 EUR syndicated multi-currency RCF with Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA for liquidity and refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years with two one-year extension options at the lender's option. As a sustainability-linked RCF, this loan featured a CSR clause with a number of Sustainability Performance Targets; depending on the borrower's performance against these targets, the margin of the interest rate would increase or decrease. The proceeds were to be used for general corporate purposes and to refinance and replace the 2020 €2.5 billion EUR RCF. Record ID#102987 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#102988 captures ICBC's contribution.