De Pardieu Brocas Maffei has advised Wendel, investment firm listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris, on the setting-up of an amendment to its undrawn €750 million syndicated credit facility maturing in October 2024 in order to integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria.
Measurable aspects of the non-financial performance of Wendel and the companies in its portfolio will henceforth be taken into account in the calculation of the financing cost of this syndicated credit. They are in line with certain quantitative ESG targets the Group has set inits ESG 2023 road map.
The three non-financial criteria selected to be integrated into the calculation of the syndicated credit’s financing cost are as follows:
•ESG due diligence must systematically be carried out on new investments directly made by Wendel, and the controlled companies in its portfolio must implement an ESG roadmap;
•the main climate risks and carbon footprint associated with each controlled portfolio company must be evaluated and action plans developed;
•at least 30% of Wendel Group representatives on the boards of directors of portfolio companies and of certain Group holdingsmust be women, by end of 2023.
These criteria will be evaluated annually by an independent third-partyand will give rise to adjustments to the margin of the facility.