Finnish renewable materials company Stora Enso signs €700M revolving credit facility; here’s why

Helsinki-based Stora Enso, a provider of renewable solutions for packaging, biomaterials, wooden construction, and paper industry, announced that it has signed a new €700M revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with a syndicate of 12 banks to refinance its existing €600M facility.

The five-year facility has two one-year extension options and will be used as a backup for general corporate purposes.

Transaction overview

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Nordea and OP Corporate Bank acted as coordinators, bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers for the facility. The lead arranger, or the mandated lead arranger, is the investment bank or underwriter firm that facilitates and leads a group of investors in a syndicated loan for major financing.

Stora Enso’s syndication as mandated lead arrangers was joined by Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, DBS Bank Ltd, London Branch, DNB Bank ASA, J.P. Morgan Securities plc, National Westminster Bank PLC, and SEB. Nordea acted as the sustainability coordinator for the RCF.

The pricing mechanism of the RCF is linked to Stora Enso’s science-based climate targets. Stora Enso commits to reducing absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its own operations as well as scope 3 GHG emissions from its value chain by 50 per cent by 2030 from the 2019 base-year.

Group Treasurer Pasi Kyckling says, “Connecting Stora Enso’s sustainability performance to our revolving credit facility is an important enabler for us to continue to execute our business strategy. We are pleased with the refinanced facility and the continued support of our banking partners.”

Stora Enso – a renewable materials company

Established in 1996, Stora Enso is the global rethinker of the paper, biomaterials, wood products, and packaging industry. Their products, in many cases, provide a low-carbon alternative to products made from fossil-based or other non-renewable materials.

The company says, “Responsibility for nature and the communities where we operate underpin our approach in every aspect. We work to ensure that forests and plantations are sustainably managed and that every effort is made to ensure more trees are grown than harvested. Inside and out, we are constantly looking for ways to improve processes, save energy and use raw material as efficiently as possible.”

Currently, Stora Enso employs around 23 000 people worldwide and is publicly listed on the Helsinki and Stockholm stock exchanges. Its sales in 2020 were €8.6B, with an operational EBIT of €650M.