Over €1.5bn of new facilities signed across cash flow and asset backed lending transactions in 1H 2013
London, 25 July, 2013: GE Capital EMEA, the specialised finance provider active in 19 markets across EMEA, has signed a record number of new business wins across its structured finance business in 1H 2013, driving a 2x increase versus the same period in 2012.
Transactions completed include the largest receivables finance deal in the German market to date and a number of multi jurisdictional asset backed lending transactions, as GE Capital continues to cement its presence as a consistently active provider of financing to European mid-market businesses. 1H 2013 deal highlights include:
- Acting as bookrunner, lead arranger and agent in a £255M syndicated loan for UK-based software provider, Civica, supporting the company in a private equity buyout
- Completing the largest single receivable finance deal in Germany (€225M) for Gunvor, one of the largest commodities trading houses in the world
- Providing a €160M financing package for IPH Group, a distributor of industrial spare parts, to provide trade receivables financing in France, Germany and the Netherlands
- Providing a €140M factoring facility for the German copper fabricator, MKM Mansfelder
- Leveraging GE Capital's global expertise to provide a €75M facility in France to a JV between Asian-based PTT Global Chemical and specialty chemicals group Perstorp
Commenting on GE Capital's role in supporting mid-market growth through innovation, Maurice Benisty, Chief Commercial Officer - GE Capital EMEA, said: "We have doubled our new facilities in the first half of 2013, completing deals through a variety of new structures which reflect our cross-border capabilities and appetite to hold in size. As many banks retreat to their home markets we are investing to service corporate and private equity clients across a wide range of products and geographies."
These new structures include the European Senior Secured Loan Programme (ESSLP), a €1.75bn joint venture between Ares and GE Capital to provide Unitranche financing for European mid-market LBOs; and Titrifact, an SPV receivables structure for companies which operate across the continent.
Commenting on being one of the first trading houses to establish a factoring programme, Gunvor's Chief Financial Officer, Jerome Schurink, said: "By freeing up trade finance lines we are creating more liquidity and more opportunity. So instead of just getting a bigger gas tank, factoring makes our financing engine more efficient."
Commenting on IPH Group's relationship with GE Capital, IPH Group CEO, Pierre Pouletty, said: "GE Capital's six-year commitment, the European coverage of its financing platform and its ability to be extended to companies that the IPH group will acquire in the coming years were the main criteria for choosing this solution."
Phill Rowland, Group Finance Director of Civica, said: "GE Capital has been a financing partner for Civica for a number of years, building a deep understanding of our business model and growth strategies. Their supportive and proactive approach made them an obvious choice to lead the financing for this transaction as Agent and Bookrunner."
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Tom Steiner
GE Capital EMEA
[email protected]
+44-(0)-208-185-2494