Raiffeisen Bank Romania and Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) have successfully signed a syndicated loan together as Coordinators and Bookrunners, providing a total financing of up to EUR 550 million to Ameropa Group – Romanian business lines, intended to support the working capital needs. The syndicated facility was closed alongside ING Bank Romania, UniCredit Bank, Alpha Bank Romania, Banca Transilvania, acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers, and BRD Groupe Société Générale, GarantiBank International and Banca Comerciala Intesa Sanpaolo Romania S.A., acting as Original Lenders.
For the EUR 550 million syndicated facility Raiffeisen Bank participated with a 21.2% share and acted as Mandated Lead Arranger & Structuring Bank & Bookrunner. BCR, that participated with a 16.8% share, acted as Mandated Lead Arranger, Bookrunner, Documentation Agent and Facility & Security Agent.
The banks were assisted in this transaction by Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) law firm.
Ameropa Group is a Swiss-based international agribusiness company, founded in 1948. The company is specialized in the trade and distribution of fertilizers, grains, and other agricultural products. It operates in 28 countries across five continents worldwide, with a workforce of over 2.500 employees. Ameropa Group’s key activity is the global merchandising and distribution of fertilizers and grains, supported and enabled by complementary assets, such as silos, warehouses, and port facilities, as well as upstream assets such as fertilizer production plants. Furthermore, the company is the largest exporter of grains out of the Danube region.
Alexandru Rițiu, Senior Director, Agribusiness, Raiffeisen Bank Romania: “ The strategy adopted this year reaffirms Raiffeisen Bank Romania’s commitment to support the Agribusiness sector of Romania, using our over 20 years knowledge in Agriculture financing to identify optimal and creative solutions, tailor made on the client’s business model. We want to state our appreciation to Ameropa team and the participating banks for the good and constructive communication which made this project possible to be implemented in due time.”
Silviu Toma, Executive Director – Project and Corporate Structured Financing, Raiffeisen Bank Romania: “We are delighted to have structured this complex financing for Ameropa’s group of companies, and as Mandated Lead Arrangers, together with Banca Comercială Română, we coordinated one of the largest local syndicated transactions and we thank the participating banks. This transaction demonstrates once again Raiffeisen Bank’s ability to provide innovative and customized solutions for customers and on this occasion, we would like to thank our partners, Ameropa Group.”
Ana Maria Samuilă, Head of Agribusiness Department, Banca Comercială Română: “We are pleased to strengthen our collaborative relationship with Ameropa, a global company with a long tradition in agricultural trading, distribution and investment. Locally, it is one of the strategic players – holding an important market share in the area of highly specialized products and owning the largest companies in agribusiness. Our partnership is rooted in a congruent vision of developing a resilient industry that creates value throughout the production chain. And for us at BCR, it is a top priority to support initiatives that accelerate sustainable and performing agriculture.”
Grația Popescu, Senior Banker Loan Syndication, Banca Comercială Română – ”We are honored to have coordinated alongside Raiffeisen Bank the arrangement of a new syndicated loan for the Ameropa Group, one of our strategic partners. The first syndicated loan for Ameropa in the amount of EUR 324m was arranged in 2019 and this new EUR 550m syndicated borrowing base facility was successfully oversubscribed, which proves the growing appetite of banks for syndicated financing and sustainable projects in the agribusiness sector. Once again, we want to congratulate all the parties involved in this landmark transaction for Romanian loan market!”.
Laurent Bogaert, Group CFO at Ameropa: “Completing the full refinancing of our main RCF in Romania is a tremendous achievement for Ameropa. It confirms the confidence our trusted banking partners have in our company and we sincerely thank them for their unwavering support. This success positions us strongly to navigate the ever-evolving market dynamics and pursue our growth strategies effectively”.