(Finance) – The Board of Directors of Maire approved the issue of a fixed rate, unrated non-convertible Senior Unsecured Sustainability-Linked¸ bond for an amount between a minimum of 120 million and a maximum of 200 million.
For Maire, this is the second issue of a bond loan after that of a bond for a total of 165 million in 2018, successfully placed with primary Italian and European institutional investors as well as on the Italian retail market.
The Bond Loan, with a minimum unit denomination of 1,000.00 and an issue price equal to 100% of the nominal value, will have a duration of 5 years and will provide for the option of voluntary early repayment starting from the third year. The interest rate, which will be determined shortly before the start of the operation, will be fixed and not less than 6% on an annual basis, recognized every six months.
The Company continues to integrate its Sustainability objectives into its financial management, as already happened in 2019 with the ESG-linked Schuldschein Loan. The Bond Loan will in fact take into account the Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework approved today by the Board of Directors. The Framework, drawn up in line with the Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles and the Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles, has been certified by Sustainalitycs as Second-Party Opinion Provider, and is available together with the certification on the Company’s website (www.mairetecnimont. com), in the “Investors” – “Investors and Sustainability” section.
The operation further strengthens MAIRE’s commitment to the energy transition as already represented by strategic plan 2023-2032. In fact, the Bond Loan will provide for an increase in the interest rate in the event of failure to reach specific decarbonisation targets by 31 December 2025. In particular,
Maire is committed to: reducing its direct and indirect CO2 emissions (so-called Scope 1 and Scope 2) by 35% compared to the 2018 level; reduce the CO2 emissions of its suppliers by 9%, in particular through the so-called Scope 3 emission intensity relating to goods and services with technological content purchased, measured as tonnes of CO2 in relation to added value, compared to the 2022 level.
These targets, in line with the decarbonization plan envisaged in the sustainability strategy of the MAIRE Group (carbon neutrality Scope 1 and 2 to 2030 and Scope 3 to 2050), contribute to the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals SDG 7 and SDG 9.
The increase in the interest rate will be equal to 0.25% for each target not reached (i.e. maximum increase of 0.50%) from the year following the survey, set for 2025. The achievement of the targets will be verified by an auditing firm appointed for this purpose.
The Bond Loan will also include an incurrence-type covenant, failure to comply with which would lead to restrictions on indebtedness and default events in line with the Group’s existing medium-long term indebtedness.
It is expected that, subject to obtaining the required authorizations and compatibly with market conditions, the offering of the Bond Loan will start during the month of September 2023 and may end during the month of October 2023