RUBIS: Rubis Photosol, Rubis Group subsidiary, announces the signing of its first syndicated corporate loan for an amount of €115 million

25 April 2023, 08:00am CET

Rubis Photosol, Rubis Group subsidiary,

announces the signing of its first syndicated corporate loan

 FOR AN AMOUNT OF €115 million

Rubis Photosol, a major player in photovoltaic energy production in France, has signed its first syndicated corporate loan with nine banking partners for an amount of €115 million. This transaction will enable the Company to bolster its financing structure in order to ramp up the development of new projects in France and abroad.

The financing arrangement breaks down as follows:

• €55 million amortisable loan;
• €60 million revolving credit facility (RCF).

Both the loan and the RCF include an extension clause providing for the option of increasing their amount over the coming years. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria will be incorporated during the year to index the financial terms of the loan to CSR objectives that are currently being defined in line with the Rubis Group CSR Roadmap Think Tomorrow 2022-2025.

This transaction was largely oversubscribed by a banking syndicate of nine banks: BNP Paribas, BRED Banque Populaire, Société Générale and Natixis acted as mandated arrangers and joint bookrunners, while Banque Palatine, CIC, Banque Neuflize, BPCE Énergéco and Caisse d’Épargne Île-de-France served as mandated arrangers.

Natixis also acted as documentation agent and facility agent.

Redbridge served as strategic adviser to Rubis Photosol while Forex Finance provided advice on rates and hedging.

The legal advisors were King & Spalding for Rubis Photosol and Ashurst for the lenders.

Rubis Photosol CEO, David Guinard, said: “The success of this inaugural syndicated loan is a sign of our banking partners’ confidence in the business model built by our teams over the past 15 years. Executed under favourable conditions, the transaction will give us the flexibility we need by helping to finance our growth plan in France and abroad. It also underlines the fact that we have reached a certain degree of maturity in our various business lines, forming a solid foundation on which we will continue to build strong and sustainable growth over the coming years thanks to our integration in the Rubis Group. We wholeheartedly thank our banking partners and all the stakeholders who helped us successfully complete this first market transaction.”

About Rubis Photosol

Founded in 2008, Photosol is a leading French developer and producer of photovoltaic electricity. Specialising in ground-level and rooftop installations on farms and office buildings, agrivoltaics and parking lot canopies, we strive to develop and install value-enhancing projects for our partners and their territories. Driven by a long-term commitment, our teams design each of our facilities in order to maximise performance and durability, while operation and maintenance are ensured through the expertise and proximity of our Photom subsidiary.

Eager to meet the challenges of decarbonisation and the integration of renewable energy into the electricity grid, we strive to deploy self-consuming solutions, long-term power purchase agreements (PPA), electricity storage solutions and green hydrogen production facilities.

Since 2022, Photosol has been a subsidiary of the Rubis Group, whose ambition and financial strength have helped drive the development of our business in France and abroad.

About Rubis

Rubis is an independent French group that has been operating in the energy sector for over 30 years, driven by its mission to give as many people as possible access to reliable and sustainable energy. The Group meets the essential needs of individual customers in terms of mobility, cooking and heating, and supplies the energy required for the operation of industry and professionals. Aware of the energy sector’s key role in combating climate change, Rubis is currently diversifying its business and offering towards less carbon-intensive solutions.

With around 4,500 employees across three regions (Africa, the Caribbean and Europe), the Group relies on a decentralised structure and operates its Energy Distribution, Renewable Electricity Production and Bulk Liquid Storage (joint venture) activities in close harmony with local requirements.

Rubis is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact.

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