30 juanary 2012
Crédit Agricole Group helps Latécoère to finance its future
Latécoère has called upon its banks in order to restructure its debt and thereby ensure the development of its activity
Following six months of negotiation, on 22 December Latécoère, the Toulouse-based aeronautical manufacturer, secured an agreement on the refinancing of its debt, thanks to the collective expertise of the Toulouse 31 Regional Bank and three group subsidiaries, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Crédit Agricole Leasing & Factoring and LCL.
Extension of repayment deadlines
The Toulouse-based subcontractor, which employs 3,700 people, experienced financial difficulties in 2009. Up to this point it had bilateral relations with 13 banks. Now it has just one syndicated loan of €320 million. The debt restructuring also involves an extension of repayment deadlines (up to 7 years for the principal tranche). “This makes it possible to match the company’s debt profile with its future income. We based the financing on Latécoère’s model, which works on long-term or very long-term projects”, says Guillaume Nicolay, of the Special Cases Department of Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Paris.
A factoring contract
In particular, deferring the principal payment to 2018 allows Latécoère to prepay a part of the convertible bonds which were due to mature in 2015. However, debt restructuring is not the only breath of fresh air that this agreement provides.
Stéphane Boullay, head of professional networks and markets at the Toulouse 31 Regional Bank, recalls an idea he suggested: “A factoring contract was established. It makes it possible to monetise the contracts that the business has with prime manufacturers in advance, generating additional resources of €76 million.”
Finally, the banks extended the currency hedging lines from 2012 to 2014, a key point for a business whose entire income is expressed in dollars, whereas part of its expenses are paid in euros.
Integration of local and national expertise
Ultimately, Bertrand Parmentier, chief executive officer of Latécoère, stresses the “alchemy” which was at work. “All the banks helped us, but I was struck by the integration of Crédit Agricole Group’s local and national expertise. The combination of the group’s core businesses was helped by the fact that our local contact, the Regional Bank, has a thorough understanding of our business and role in the region.”
© creditagricole.info / january 2012
