Axereal - Equity

disbursing

The EBRD is considering investing up to €38 million in this Project through (i) a €28 million loan to finance a portion of Axereal working capital needs in Serbia, Romania, Croatia and Hungary, and (ii) an equity investment of up to €10 million to finance the acquisition of silos in these countries. The Project is located in a region with a significant agricultural potential. The Transition Impact of the Project is expected to derive from: Market Expansion - The project will support the expansion of silo capacity, currently scarce in CEE/SEE and increase access to pre-financing and provision of inputs to farmers. The Company believes that investing in this long-term cooperation with farmers is of mutual benefit, since it provides the company with a stable supply network and the farms with a stable off-taker, thus contributing to the overall competitiveness of the crops produced. The Bank’s working capital line will allow the Company to provide more pre-financing, high quality seeds and fertilisers which will contribute also to i) inclusion of more small farmers into the supply network and ii) further increase farmers’ yields across all regional markets. Transfer and dispersion of skills - Axereal pays significant attention to the continuing education and skills transfer to its partner-farmers. Axereal’s agronomy team supports farms by providing advisory services in land cultivation and help small farmers to more efficiently manage their land by applying appropriate soil treatment and modern farming methods that help cut costs, achieve higher yields and improve quality of the output. Axereal, a vertically integrated French agro-industrial cooperative, is the leading grain collector in France and the third largest malt producer in Europe. The group has been present in central and eastern Europe and south eastern Europe since 2001, and is looking forward to expanding its operations in the Danube region, the second most important grain base in Europe. A €28 million working capital loan and an equity investment of up to €10 million. €102 million The project was categorised B following the due diligence undertaken by a staff member from EBRD’s Environment and Sustainability Department as well as subsequent meetings with key management to review the Group’s environmental and health and safety management systems. Based on the due diligence an Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) was developed to ensure the Company's compliance with the Banks Performance Requirements for environment, health and safety and labour. Axereal will provide the Bank with regular reporting on the implementation of the ESAP and EBRD staff will monitor Environmental and Social performance for the lifetime of the project. None Stefan Schodts, Regional Director for Central Europe and Deputy CFO of Axereal Group Tel: +33 2 4821 8236 Email: Stefan.schodts@axereal.com