Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On December 18, 2017, a syndicate of 37 banks — including the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), the Bank of China (BOC), and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into a €10 billion EUR syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Enel S.p.A. — an Italian multinational energy company distributing electricity and gas listed on the Borsa Italiana and minority-owned by Italy's Ministry of Economy and Finance (23.585% stake) — and Enel Finance International N.V. (EFI) — a Netherlands-incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Enel — for refinancing and working capital purposes. This RCF carried a maturity period of five years, a final maturity date in December 2022, and a variable interest rate based on EURIBOR plus a margin dependent on the credit rating of the borrower (as the rating was Baa2/BBB+/, the initial margin was 45 basis points (bps)). Commitment fees were equal to 35% of the interest rate (15.75 bps at signing). The RCF carried negative pledge clauses to not establish mortgages, liens, or other encumbrances, disposal clauses to not dispose of Enel assets, pari passu clauses for the debt, and change of control clauses if control of Enel changed. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to replace (refinance) its existing €9.44 billion EUR committed in February 2015, which was prepaid, and for working capital purposes; borrowings by EFI required a guarantee from its parent Enel. Record ID#107075 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#107076 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#107077 captures ICBC's contribution. As of December 31, 2017, the RCF was undrawn. On March 5, 2021, a syndicate of 35 banks — including ABC, BOC, and ICBC — entered into a €10 billion EUR ($11.95623 billion USD) syndicated sustainability-linked RCF agreement with Enel and EFI for refinancing purposes and to meet its financial needs. This RCF carried a maturity period of five years, a final maturity date in May 2025, a variable interest rate based on EURIBOR plus a margin dependent on the credit rating of the borrower (as the rating was BBB+/Baa1, the initial margin was 40 bps) with a floor of 80%, and a commitment fee equal to 35% of the applicable margin (0.14% at signing). As a sustainability-linked RCF, it featured a key performance indicator (KPI) that measured the borrower's performance on getting direct greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 from the production of electricity and heat) produced by Enel equal or lower to 148 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour of energy generated by December 31, 2023; the margin and commitment fee would step up or step down based on whether Enel achieved this target. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to replace and refinance the €10 billion EUR RCF from December 2017 and to meet the borrower's financial needs; borrowings by EFI required a guarantee from its parent Enel. Record ID#107078 captures ABC's contribution. Record ID#107079 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#107080 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to ABC, BOC, and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Banca Popolare Di Milano (Banco BPM) S.p.A., Barclays Bank Plc, BNP Paribas S.A., BPER Banca S.p.A., CaixaBank, S.A., Crédit Agricole Group, HSBC Bank, ING Group N.V., Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., Mediobanca, Mizuho Bank, MUFG, Ltd., Natixis, Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), UniCredit S.p.A., Citigroup, Commerzbank AG, Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., NatWest Markets Plc, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (BMPS), Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A. (BPSO), Bank of America Corporation, Credit Suisse AG, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Morgan Stanley, Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), Standard Chartered Bank plc, and Unione di Banche Italiane S.p.A. (UBI Banca). Mediobanca served as documentation and facility agent. ABC, Banco BPM, Barclays, BNP Paribas, BPER Banca, Caixabank, Crédit Agricole, HSBC, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mediobanca, Mizuho, MUFG, Natixis, SocGen, SMBC and UniCredit served as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers. Citigroup, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, and NatWest served as mandated lead arrangers. BOC, ICBC, BMPS, Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Scotiabank, and Standard Chartered Bank served as arrangers. This was the largest ever sustainability-linked RCF at the time of signing, surpassing Anheuser-Busch InBev which had previously held the title for a month. On May 11, 2022, a syndicate of banks entered into an amendment and restatement agreement with Enel and EFI for the €10 billion EUR RCF; in the amendment, the RCF was increased by €3.5 billion EUR (this portion maturing in May 2025) while the existing €10 billion EUR retained its May 2026 maturity. It is unclear whether ABC, BOC, or ICBC participated in this €3 billion EUR up-sizing.
Staff comments
1. Enel S.p.A., or the Enel Group, is an Italian multinational energy company that is active in the sectors of electricity generation and distribution, as well as in the distribution of natural gas. Enel was first established as a public body at the end of 1962, and then transformed into a limited company in 1992. It was privatized in 1999. Enel operates in 37 countries with 2.1m km of grid network across five continents and a net installed generating capacity of around 84 GW. 2. The individual contributions of the 35 lenders to this €10 billion EUR syndicated loan are unknown. Therefore, to estimate ABC, BOC, and ICBC's contributions, AidData assumes that each lender contributed equally (€285,714,285.714 EUR) to the loan syndicate.