BDR Thermea
The refinancing and increase of its existing secured financing by a new fully unsecured financing facility
- In October 2022 Avaxa was engaged by BDR Thermea (‘BDRT’) , a leading manufacturer of heating and hot water solutions for homes and businesses, to assist in the refinancing and increase of its existing senior secured-financing facilities;
- Avaxa assisted in modelling the financial forecasts including a flexible acquisition module to assess the impact of potential acquisitions and assisted in determining the required debt quantum;
- Furthermore, Avaxa performed a shadow credit rating analysis to benchmark existing terms & conditions against prevailing market circumstances, developed a preferred financing structure (including sufficient firepower for acquisitions);
- prepared the information package for the lenders and the syndication strategy;
- Based on the shadow credit rating it was decided to aim at an unsecured financing, whereas thus far BDR’s financing had been (partly) secured;
- An integral part of the refinancing was to ensure enough flexibility to incorporate alternative debt instruments in due course, including an EU or US Private Placement or Schuldschein;
- Additionally, the new financing structure was designed to incorporate a sustainability component, reflecting BDR’s commitment to environmental responsibility;
- The new financing package consists of a 5 year EUR 650 million unsecured Revolving Credit Facility (with an accordion and two extension options) by an international syndicate of seven lenders after running a broad process with seventeen lenders. The new syndicate of ABN Amro, Commerzbank, BNP Paribas, CIC, SEB, Citi and Sabadell is a good match with BDRT’s geographical footprint;
- As a result of the positioning of BDRT as (implied) investment grade, Avaxa managed to structure the deal as a fully unsecured financing (thereby releasing all existing security); and
- Avaxa ensured a smooth deal process and completed the refinancing in a short time frame at very attractive commercial terms, with the debt quantum being significantly oversubscribed.
