(Re)financing deal sealed for green steel production and general corporate financing

• Salzgitter AG to receive € 1.03 billion in refurbished syndicated loan
• ESG rendezvous clause being introduced

Salzgitter Klöckner-Werke GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Salzgitter AG (“the Salzgitter Group”), has entered into a revamped € 1.03 billion syndicated loan agreement. The company’s existing € 560 million credit line was raised to € 680 million, with a new € 350 million guarantee facility baked into the contract as well.
 
The loan has a five-year term that can be extended twice, by a further year each time. The new facilities are replacing a € 560 million syndicated financing concluded back in 2017.
 
An ESG rendezvous clause is currently in the works; it will make the agreement the Salzgitter Group’s first-ever sustainability-linked loan.
 
“We have committed ourselves to our chosen path towards reaching our decarbonization goals and will be investing over € 2 billion in the first SALCOS^® expansion stage alone. We are thankful not only for the roughly € 1 billion in subsidies from the federal and state governments but also for the fact that our core banks are also pitching in, from the debt financing side, to help make our steel production more sustainable”, says Salzgitter AG CEO Gunnar Groebler.
According to Salzgitter AG CFO Burkhard Becker, “Our new syndicated financing is a very strong pillar in our financial strategy. The higher volume will give us further flexibility as we make the transformation towards green steel production.”
 
The financing was arranged by Bayerische Landesbank, BNP Paribas S.A. Niederlassung Deutschland, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank AG, Norddeutsche Landesbank – Girozentrale and UniCredit Bank AG, and was syndicated to these and other banks. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft also acted as documentation and facilities agent. Deutsche Bank AG is organizing the sustainability/ESG component for the Salzgitter Group.