GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, May 28, 2019 – Sucafina, a leading global and sustainable coffee company, and BNP Paribas are pleased to announce the renewal of their Sustainability Linked Syndicated Borrowing Base Facility first established in 2017. The process started several months ago and involved strong cooperation between the company and participating banks.
“Following the over subscription of our facility in 2017, Sucafina has been thrilled by the strong and positive response again from the market as soon as the renewal of our main syndicated facility was announced. Our existing bank group showed a high level of reactivity, commitment, and enthusiasm on the revised competitive terms including the sustainability features and increased tenor. It allowed us to complete the renewal process in a very efficient way and I want to personally thank the banks, the law firms and of course my team for the commitment in the last few weeks,” said Philippe Penet, the CFO of Sucafina.
The facility is a collaborative effort between Sucafina and 11 participating banks:
Mandated Lead Arranger
ABN AMRO BANK N.V.
BNP PARIBAS (SUISSE) SA (Facility Agent & Sole Book Runner)
CREDIT SUISSE (SWITZERLAND) LTD
NATIXIS
SOCIETE GENERALE
UBS SWITZERLAND AG
Lead Arranger
COÖPERATIEVE RABOBANK U.A. (Sustainability Agent)
ING BELGIUM, BRUSSELS, GENEVA BRANCH
BANQUE INTERNATIONALE DE COMMERCE - BRED (SUISSE) S.A.
HSBC FRANCE
BANQUE CANTONALE DE GENÈVE
Mathieu Durrleman, Sector Head Agribusiness EMEA of BNP Paribas stated: “BNP Paribas is very proud of the services rendered to Sucafina Group by this US$300 million Sustainability Linked Syndicated Borrowing Base Facility, extended now for a 2 years additional period with, thanks to its excellent track record, all of the initial 11 banks having renewed their commitments! The Facility, as extended, provides enhanced flexibility to Sucafina coffee merchanting activity and includes coffee on 4 continents, on all possible seas, in 80 warehouses located in 20 countries, with securities taken in 14 of those, as well as receivables on Sucafina's clients located in a larger number of countries. Targets in the sustainability sphere are included and are an important additional feature of this Facility.”
The sustainability targets of the facility, broadly aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, are an integral part of how Sucafina does business. Much of the Company’s supply chains, especially in East Africa, connect it to smallholder farmers and vulnerable population groups. Sucafina has recently affirmed their full support for the Swiss Government’s 2018 Guidance on implementing the UN Guiding Principles in Business and Human Rights for the Commodity Trading Sector.
“Rabobank is delighted to take on the role of Sustainability Agent for this facility which has enabled us to contribute to Sucafina making a true on-the-ground impact with coffee farmers in East Africa. The Facility is structured with KPIs that are primarily focused on smallholder farmers and fits perfectly with Sucafina’s ‘Farm to Roaster’ vision,” Said Maarten Biermans, Head Sustainable Markets, Rabobank.
In its continuous effort to protect farmers from the impact of volatile prices, Sucafina also announced earlier this year US$5 million in seed funding and working capital over the next 3 years to invest in its new “Farmer Hub” initiative – alternative projects on agency banking, grain and banana production, as well as circular economy models for supplying goods and services to farmers living in proximity to the Group’s assets in East Africa.
The “Farmer Hub” initiative was launched by Sucafina in December 2018, with a challenge to come up with innovative solutions that create more value for the company’s supply chain and its long-standing relationship with farmers.
With this Facility and recent investments, Sucafina has secured again key tools to support its 2025 vision to “be the leading sustainable ‘Farm to Roaster’ coffee company in the world”.
Watch below video to learn more about Sucafina's "Farmer Hub" initiative: