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25/07/2012
Icade, the French real estate investment trust parent company of JPW’s European Alliance partner Icade Conseil, has closed an €1.55bn refinancing package with eight banks over three tranches led by Société Général, Lloyds Banking Group and Natixis. The major refinancing is guaranteed at corporate level, rather than by Icade’s €7bn French and German real estate portfolio, and will also, in part, be used to refinance Silic’s impending debt maturities, the French listed business park real estate company which Icade hopes to conclude the acquisition of by next summer. Lloyds Banking Group, Natixis and Société Générale – each lent between €200m and €300m across the €1.55bn, while Crédit Mutuel-CIC Group, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, HSBC France and Crédit du Nord, a subsidiary of Société Générale, each lent between €50m and €100m. The first facility - which will cover the combined medium term intra-group financing needs of Icade and Silic – was a five-year €625m with a 50% amortisation schedule in the fourth year. All eight banks participated in the “medium term credit line”. The medium term facility consists of a five-year €350m loan, covering Silic’s refinancing needs in 2012 and 2013 as well as a €50m advance with a 12-months maturity, covering short-term finance needs. The second facility is a three year €550m revolving credit facility which was structured “to reinforce the financial structure of Icade”. All banks except Crédit Agricole participated. In the third and final facility, a fast-amortising three-year €375m corporate loan which draws down in 2014 replacing part of Icade’s maturing €900m syndicated loan in that year. This future facility agreed now will be provided by five of the eight banks: Lloyds, Natixis, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and Crédit du Nord. CoStar News reported that the margin Icade negotiated with the seven-bank syndicate is between 175 basis points and 225 basis points, in a fluctuating margin based on the overall company-wide LTV. Based on current interest rates, the refinancing package is expected to reduce Icade’s overall average cost of debt. Icade said the refinancing structure is testament to the depth of its banking relationships which not only covers the financing needs of Icade and Silic, but also optimises the debt repayment schedule, increases financial headroom, while anticipating a combined financial structure that will reinforce the financial strength of the merged Icade and Silic entity. The refinancing deal provides as much as €1bn in available debt for Icade. Icade is subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts, the French investor, developer, and service provider in private and public property. The combined Icade and Silic REIT will have a €10bn-sized French and German portfolio. At 31 December 2011, its EPRA triple net asset value was €4.3bn at €83.7 per share.
