Fieldfisher advises Carbios on the signing of a €30 million loan agreement with the EIB

Fieldfisher has once again advised Carbios, a green chemistry company pioneering the development of enzymatic solutions dedicated to the end-of-life of plastic and textile polymers, in the context of the signature, on December 20, 2021, of a €30 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the support of the European Commission.

The objective of this type of financing is to support innovative projects with high potential, developed by companies aiming to achieve major changes in line with the EU's climate objectives and contributing to the leadership of European industry in the development of sustainable technologies. In this context, and following an in-depth analysis of Carbios' business model and due diligence conducted by the EIB during 2021, the loan was granted to support the strategic industrial and commercial development of Carbios' enzymatic recycling technology.

The €30 million loan, disbursed in a single tranche by the EIB, carries a fixed semi-annual interest rate of 5%, with a maturity of 8 years. This agreement is complemented by a warrant issuance agreement under which Carbios will issue 2.5% of its fully diluted share capital in warrants to the EIB, including 1.25% with an exercise price of EUR 40 per share, and 1.25% with an exercise price of EUR 38.8861 per share. The creation and issuance of these EIB warrants, and therefore the disbursement of the €30 million loan, are conditional on the vote by an extraordinary general meeting of Carbios shareholders to be held in the first quarter of 2022, of a delegation of authority to the board of directors, and on a decision by the Company's board of directors using this delegation of authority.

With this transaction, Fieldfisher has demonstrated its ability to act on all types of financing and all types of projects with high-potential companies, particularly in the environmental and sustainable development sector. Our teams have the expertise, experience, and capabilities to advise clients at every stage of their innovation, development, and investment.

At Fieldfisher, the multidisciplinary team was composed of: 

• Samuel Pallotto, partner, and Mathilde Cazé, counsel, on the capital markets aspects, particularly with respect to the warrant issuance agreement; and

• Hélène Lefebvre, partner, on the financing aspects, in particular the loan agreement.

Samuel Pallotto, head of the Capital Markets department at Fieldfisher Paris, comments: "We are pleased to have accompanied Carbios once again. We were already at their side last May for their €114 million capital increase, which is to date the largest public offering ever made on Euronext Growth Paris. We sincerely thank them for the trust they have placed in us for nearly eight years."