Waga Energy targets US market with $100 million loan

Waga Energy, a France-based provider of renewable natural gas (RNG) systems installed at landfills, has signed to receive a 100 million euros ($108 million) corporate syndicated loan with a consortium of five banking groups.

The syndicated loan, with a three-year maturity extendible to five years, will enable the acceleration of the international development of Waga Energy, notably in the United States, and will strengthen the group’s financial structure, the company says.

The loan can be labelled as “green" since it will be used to finance projects that make a "substantial contribution" to climate change mitigation, in compliance with the European green taxonomy, and in line with decarbonization challenges.

“Raising this financing at the level of the group parent company illustrates the confidence of our banking partners in the project steered by Waga Energy to serve energy transition,” says Jean-Michel Thibaud, chief financial officer and deputy CEO at Waga Energy. “It further reinforces our balance sheet and confirms the strength of our business model based on the construction and operation of assets generating highly predictable cash flows.” 

The loan is largely oversubscribed by a pool of five institutions: Groupe BPCE (Natixis, Banque Populaire Auvergne Rhône Alpes, Caisse d’Épargne Rhône Alpes); Groupe Crédit Agricole (Crédit Agricole CIB, Crédit Agricole Sud Rhône Alpes, Crédit Agricole Centre France, Crédit Lyonnais); Arkéa Banque Entreprises & Institutionnels; BNP Paribas; and Société Générale.

Natixis is acting as documentation agent and loan agent while Crédit Agricole CIB and Crédit Agricole Sud Rhône Alpes are acting as “green” coordinators.

The company was assisted in the transaction by Redbridge Debt & Treasury Advisory (financial advisor) and Jones Day (law firm). The lenders were assisted by the law firm of Hogal Lovells.

Waga currently operates 27 RNG production units in France, Spain, Canada and the U.S. and employs 230 people, with 60 of them in North America. Based in France, it also has offices in Pennsylvania in the U.S. and in Canada, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.