Dentons advises Sociéte Générale, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole on debut ESG-linked Schuldschein placement for Agrial Group

lobal law firm Dentons advised Société Générale, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank as joint arrangers of the debut ESG-linked Schuldschein placement for Agrial Group.

Frankfurt-based partner Oliver Dreher led the German-French team, which advised on the transaction. The team included senior associate Philippa Münnich-Winter in Frankfurt, as well as partner Julien Bacus and counsel Charles Tissier in Paris.

Agrial Group, one of the leading French agricultural and food-processing cooperative groups, has successfully completed its debut ESG-linked Schuldschein placement, raising approximately €140 million from international banks and other institutional investors through its subsidiary Agrial Finances. The Schuldschein issue – a privately-placed unsecured debt obligation under German law – is linked to ESG parameters and comprises various tranches with maturities from six to ten years.

The Normandy-based Agrial Group has approximately 23,000 employees and its 2020 revenues amounted to €6 billion.

A team led by Oliver Dreher also advised the respective joint arrangers of the successful €150 million Schuldschein debut by Agrial in 2017 as well as the €209 million successor transaction of the Group in 2020.

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