Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On July 17, 2020, a syndicate of eight banks — including the London Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — signed a £2.500 billion GBP ($3.31913 billion USD) senior secured syndicated loan agreement with Planets UK Bidco Limited — an United Kingdom-based special purpose vehicle (SPV) jointly owned by KKR Global Infrastructure Investors III L.P. (50% equity stake) and KKR Global Impact Fund I (EUR) SCSp (50% equity stake), both funds managed and advised by KKR & Co. Inc., an American global investment company — for the acquisition of an 100% interest in Viridor Limited, a United Kingdom waste management company, from Pennon Group plc. This loan was divided into two tranches: a £2.200 billion GBP ($2.76243 billion USD) term loan with a maturity period of five years, a final maturity date of July 8, 2025, and an interest rate based upon LIBOR plus a margin ranging from 100 basis points (bps) to 300 bps and a £300.00 million GBP ($376.70 million USD) revolving credit facility (RCF) tranche with a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of July 8, 2025. ICBC contributed £302.14 million GBP ($379.39 million USD) to the £2.200 billion GBP term loan tranche. Record ID#92820 captures ICBC's contribution to this tranche. In addition to ICBC, the following seven lenders contributed the respective amounts to the tranche: BNP Paribas S.A. (£302.14 million GBP), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (£302.14 million GBP), National Westminster Bank Plc (NatWest) (£302.14 million GBP), Mizuho Bank (£302.14 million GBP), Société Générale S.A. (SocGen) (£302.14 million GBP), UBS AG (£302.14 million GBP), Crédit Agricole Group (£85.00 million GBP; $106.73 million USD). All six lenders, including ICBC, contributed £50.00 million GBP ($62.78 million USD) to the £300 million GBP revolver tranche. Record ID#92821 captures ICBC's contribution to this tranche. In addition to ICBC, the following five lenders contributed to the tranche: BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, NatWest, SocGen, and UBS. BNP Paribas, SocGen, and UBS served as underwriters and mandated lead arrangers. ICBC, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho, and NatWest served as mandated lead arrangers; ICBC, Mizuho, NatWest, and Goldman Sachs served as bookrunners. The mandated lead arrangers planned to syndicate a portion of the debt after financial close; Standard Chartered was said to participated in the loan, likely in further syndication. The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower, alongside £1.700 billion GBP ($2.13461 billion USD) in equity (£850.00 million GBP ($1.06730 billion USD) each), to finance KKR's £4.200 billion GBP ($5.27374 billion USD) all-cash acquisition of Viridor Limited from Pennon Group. The acquisition was announced on March 18, 2020. Financial close of the acquisition was achieved on July 8, 2020. Viridor Limited is a leading waste management company in the United Kingdom that owns 11 Energy Recovery Facilities and handles about.6.8 million tons of waste (including recycling and landfills). Then, on December 1, 2021, a syndicate of 20 banks — including ICBC — entered into a £2.615 billion GBP ($3.48381 billion USD) syndicated debt agreement with Planets UK Bidco Limited for the Viridor Acquisition Refinancing Project. This loan was divided into four tranches: a £900 million GBP ($1.11902 billion USD) term loan tranche, a £1.585 billion GBP ($2.11160 billion USD) 22-year commercial bond, a £65.00 million GBP ($86.60 million USD) revolver tranche with a maturity period of five years maturing on December 1, 2026, and a £65.00 million GBP debt service reserve facility with a maturity period of five years and a final maturity date of December 1, 2026. The proceeds were to be used by KKR for the refinancing of the acquisition of Viridor Limited. 16 lenders, including ICBC, each contributed £56.25 million GBP ($74.94 million USD) to the £900 million GBP term loan tranche. Record ID#99893 captures ICBC's contribution.
Staff comments
1. This loan is coded as collateralized because it was issued through a ‘senior secured acquisition debt financing’ instrument. 2. A 6-Month LIBOR was assumed. The average 6-Month LIBOR rate for GBP for July 2020 was 0.21332%. Therefore, the interest rate has been coded as 0.21332% + 1.00% (100 basis points, the lower limit of the range), or 1.21332%.