Marcegaglia: ESG-linked financing of 800 million euros for the Fos-sur-Mer project

Marcegaglia Steel, industrial holding of the steel group led by Antonio and Emma Marcegaglia, "has signed two 11-year Sustainability-Linked loans for a total of 800 million euros". The company makes this known in a note. "The two new lines - the group says - are 80% guaranteed by the Italian and French export credit agencies - Sace and Bpifrance Assurance Export - and will be disbursed over the next 3 years by a pool of Italian and international banks that have been collaborating with the group for years".

The pool includes: Intesa Sanpaolo (IMI CIB Division), BNP Paribas CIB, Crédit Agricole CIB and Unicredit (in the role of Global and ECAs Coordinators, Bookrunners, Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers, Sustainability Coordinators and Hedging Coordinators), Santander CIB (in the role of Additional Mandated Lead Arrangers) and BPER Corporate&Investment Banking, Banco BPM and ING Bank (in the role of Arrangers). As part of the operation, Intesa Sanpaolo and Crédit Agricole CIB also acted as Agents.

"The financing - explains a note - is linked to specific ESG objectives of the Marcegaglia Group, with the provision of a reward mechanism linked to the achievement of certain sustainability parameters. The credit lines are intended to support the Fos-sur-Mer industrial project, where Marcegaglia is making the largest industrial investment ever made by the group, worth over 1 billion euros. The plan envisages an upstream integration of between 35 and 40% of the raw material requirements (slabs and coils) thanks to the production of 2 million electric furnace steel and over 3 million tons of hot rolled coils (in carbon and stainless steel)". The investment "is part of a broader strategy of growth in added value, stability of supply chains and decarbonisation thanks to the use of scrap, low CO2 content DRI and nuclear energy, so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional methods. The project will also be one of the first electrified steel production sites in Europe and will contribute to promoting a more efficient and sustainable steel supply chain, in line with the sector's decarbonisation objectives".