Aquila European Renewables Income RCF Increase to EUR 100 million (1533O)
08 June 2022 - 7:31PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAERS TIDMAERI
RNS Number : 1533O
Aquila European Renewables Income
08 June 2022
8 June 2022
Aquila European Renewables Income Fund plc
Revolving Credit Facility Increase to EUR 100 million
Aquila European Renewables Income Fund plc ("AERIF" or "the
Company"), the London-listed investment company advised by Aquila
Capital Investmentgesellschaft mbH (the "Investment Adviser"),
today announces that it has reached contractual close in relation
to an increase in its existing revolving credit facility ("RCF")
limit from EUR 40 million to EUR 100 million. In combination with
the increase, the RCF maturity date has been extended by a further
12 months from April 2023 to April 2024.
The RCF was first implemented in April 2021 and was structured
to provide additional flexibility, including:
-- an accordion option which enables the Company to upsize the
facility limit from EUR 40 million to EUR 100 million; and
-- an extension option, which allows the RCF tenor to be extended by a further two years.
As announced on 16 May 2022, in combination with the acquisition
of Tiza, the Company has been in discussions with RCF lenders to
exercise both the accordion and extension option, in order to
prudently accommodate existing funding commitments of over EUR 120
million[1] (Greco and Tiza) and provide funding flexibility for
further pipeline opportunities.
The Company has successfully exercised both the accordion and
extension options, noting that:
-- a further EUR 50 million accordion option (subject to bank
consent) has been agreed with RCF lenders (increasing the total RCF
facility limit to EUR 150 million);
-- a further one year extension option to April 2025 remains (subject to bank consent);
-- the RCF margin (1.85% over EURIBOR) and commitment fee remain unchanged; and
-- the bank group is unchanged and consists of ING Bank N.V.
("ING") and Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited
("RBSI").
Taking into account the increased RCF limit, AERIF's existing
cash on hand and deducting future funding commitments, AERIF has
surplus capital of approximately EUR 40 million[2] remaining
(excluding the additional EUR 50 million RCF accordion option).
Commenting on today's announcement, Michael Anderson, Senior
Manager at Aquila Capital, the Investment Adviser: "We believe the
commitment from ING and RBSI is a strong endorsement of the quality
of the Company's existing portfolio and investment strategy, as
well as the broader relationship. We thank the banks for their
ongoing support."
Diederik van den Berg, Global Lead Renewables & Power from
ING, said: "We are delighted to be able to support AERIF in its
next chapter of growth, as it further expands and develops its
renewables platform. The transaction is another tangible example of
ING's Terra approach, by which ING steers its loan book towards
keeping the rise in global temperatures to a maximum of 1.5 degrees
Celsius."
Commenting on today's announcement, Brad Mitchell, Director of
Institutional Banking at RBSI: "We are delighted to further extend
our support to AERIF and provide additional liquidity over an
extended tenor to aid their growth plans in a sector that is so
closely aligned to NatWest Group's Purpose."
Ends
For further details contact:
Media Contacts
Edelman Smithfield
Ged Brumby 07540 412301
Kanayo Agwunobi 07581 010560
Sponsor, Broker and Placing Agent
Numis Securities 020 7260 1000
Tod Davis
David Benda
Vicki Paine
European Broker
Kempen & Co +31 20 348 8000
Maarten de Zeeuw
Kathrin Erfurth
Robin van Wijk
NOTES
Aquila European Renewables Income Fund plc is a London-listed
renewable energy infrastructure investment company with the aim to
provide investors with an attractive long-term, income-based return
in EUR through a diversified portfolio of hydropower, onshore wind
and solar PV investments across continental Europe and Ireland.
Through the diversification of generation technologies, the
seasonal production patterns of these asset types complete each
other to balance the cash flow, while the geographic
diversification serves to reduce exposure to one single energy
market.
www.aquila-european-renewables-income-fund.com
[1] Excludes earn-out and any post-closing adjustments
[2] Calculation also takes into account minor residual capital
expenditure related to Albeniz and a minimum liquidity buffer at
the fund level
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