By Silas Brown
28 Jan 2021
European and US direct lending’s insatiable rise to relevance has so far not brought with it a push towards sustainable finance. But this year may be different, as certain private debt funds are setting out ESG blueprints for others to follow.
The bulk of private debt funds, a market that has topped $850bn globally, have not yet integrated sustainable finance structural features into the loans they make.This may be for a number of reasons. There are fewer sustainability standards for the middle market than there are for larger, listed
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German car part maker Stabilus began marketing a Schuldschein on Monday, as many consider whether the automotive sector should be back on investors' buy lists.
By Silas Brown
22 Jan 2021
Infravia Capital Partners, the French private equity firm, has amended an equity bridge facility to make it align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Margins are tied to the ESG performance of its fund’s investments, following the lead of EQT and Eurazeo. Crédit Agricole was ESG agent and a lender, while ABN Amro, HSBC and Royal Bank of Canada also participated in the loan. The margins will change depending on InfraVia’s performance on five sustainable development goals – the promotion of gender equality; the contribution to economic growth and social
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By Silas Brown
21 Jan 2021
Several industries once popular with direct lenders have struggled to cope through the coronavirus. Now, direct lenders say they have toughened terms for borrowers from these sectors. Direct lending in Europe blossomed after the global financial crisis. Onerous regulations prompted banks to lend to smaller companies less, which led asset managers to fill the void. At the end of last year around $174bn had been raised across 244 private debt funds with a European focus,
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The decline in international and debut Schuldschein issuance last year had a disproportionate impact on non-German bank arrangers. But this year’s bright start has given them a new lease of life.