Salzgitter AG has signed two export credit agency (ECA)-covered “Green Loan” financings to support the decarbonisation of its steel manufacturing operations.
The total amount of €500 million ($532m) ECA-backed senior unsecured financing package consists of two tranches which involve the main plantbuilders of the technical conversion, Kallanish understands. A €300 million export credit facility is covered by SACE, the Italian Export Credit Agency, with Simest CIRR support in connection to the direct reduction of iron ore plant supplied by Tenova/Danieli.
A €200 million export credit facility is covered by Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB), the Austrian Export Credit Agency, in connection to the electric arc furnace supplied by Primetals from Austria.
These facilities are among the first ECA-covered corporate Green Loans in the steel sector worldwide and the first in Germany, Salzgitter points out.
The finance parties, SACE and Simest were advised by Norton Rose Fulbright, while Salzgitter AG was advised by Linklaters. The financing process also involved BNP Paribas, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank. The loans, structured under Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles, will fund a portion of the €2.3 billion phase 1 of the Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking programme.
Christian Koehl Germany
