Verallia announced today that it successfully priced its inaugural Sustainability‐ Linked Bond in an aggregate amount of €500 million with a 7‐year maturity with a coupon of 1.625%.
As the very first issuer of a Sustainability‐linked Bond in the Glass packaging industry in Europe, Verallia is confirming its sustainability leadership in the sector.
Michel Giannuzzi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: “We are proud to be the first in our industry to launch a sustainability‐linked bond in Europe. This issuance is fully aligned with the Group’s ESG strategy released in January 2021. The order book of close to EUR 2 billion demonstrates the confidence of investors in the Company’s financial strength, strategy and ability to deliver on its sustainability targets.”
The proceeds of the transaction will be used to refinance part of the existing financial indebtedness of the Group. This landmark transaction enables Verallia to (i) further diversify its sources of funding with a direct access to the bond market, (ii) lengthen its debt maturity profile and (iii) further reinforce the visibility of its commitment to sustainability.
The Sustainability‐Linked Notes are fully aligned with Verallia’s ESG ambitions and were issued in accordance with the ICMA Sustainability‐Linked Bond Principles. In its Second Party Opinion, Vigeo Eiris is of the opinion that Verallia’s Sustainability‐Linked Financing Framework is aligned with the core components of the Sustainability‐Linked Bond Principles 2020. Vigeo Eiris rates both KPI’s relevance and target’s ambition as advanced, the highest rating on its scale.
The coupon amounts depend on the achievement of the two following Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs):
- SPT 1: Reduce Verallia’s annual CO2 emissions (scope 1 and 2) to 2,625kt CO2 for the year 2025 (15% decrease vs 2019 baseline), and
- SPT 2: Reach a 59% rate of external cullet usage by 2025 (+10 pts increase vs 2019 baseline).
This is in line with Verallia’s 2030 ambition aiming to reduce scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 27.5% and increase its cullet rate usage on all furnaces. This objective is in line with the Paris COP 21 goals to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre‐industrial levels and has been validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative.
BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB and Deutsche Bank acted as Joint Global Coordinators on the bond issuance. Bank of America Securities Europe SA, Raiffeisen Bank International, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking and Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking acted as joint bookrunners.
