Engie has secured a US$500mn term loan backed by the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), the French energy giant’s first direct financing facility supported by an OECD export credit agency.
Société Générale and Citi arranged the facility, which also marks the first time EIFO has supported a loan for the French utility market.
“We have been diligently working on establishing a cooperation with Engie, making this an ideal opportunity to show our shared interests,” says EIFO’s chief commercial officer Peter Boeskov. “We are pleased to have finalised the agreement as it marks another milestone for EIFO.”
The deal is tied to the use of Danish-produced Vestas Wind Systems wind turbines in onshore wind farms, but spokespeople for EIFO and Engie declined to disclose the names or locations of the projects, citing confidentiality reasons. Engie tells GTR the tenor of the loan is nine years.
The loan is estimated to co-finance more than 1GW in renewable energy across several projects, a statement from EIFO says, adding to Engie’s current installed capacity of 41.1GW.
“We are very happy to further diversify our sources of financing with our first corporate loan involving an OECD export credit agency,” says Engie Group’s chief financial officer Pierre-François Riolacci. “This agreement reinforces our relationships with suppliers and institutions from Denmark, which are well known for their commitment to the energy transition.”
While EIFO says the loan marks the first time Engie has closed a financing deal backed by an OECD export credit insurer, a joint venture involving Engie previously secured backing from Japan’s Nippon Export and Investment Insurance for a wind project in Egypt.
EIFO is among the largest supporter of wind projects worldwide due to Denmark’s large wind turbine manufacturing base.
This article was updated on January 22, 2025, to incorporate comments from Engie.
