Beni Stabili secures €710m refi

Listed Italian real estate company Beni Stabili has agreed a €710 million loan with a club of French and Italian banks.

The lenders comprise the Italian branches of French banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Natixis and Societe Generale as well as Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit.

The loan is secured by a portfolio of properties owned by Beni Stabili and leased to Telecom Italia. The firm said that the loan will be mainly used to prepay corporate loans maturing in 2017 and mortgage financing maturing in 2020 and 2021.

The eight-year loan is priced at a coupon below 1.8 percent. The loan agreement includes the provision to increase the amount of debt to €810 million. Beni Stabili said that the deal allows it to reduce its annual cost of debt and increase its average debt maturity by 1.5 years up to 5.1 years.

Beni Stabili bought a portfolio of properties occupied by Telecom Italia in 2000, known as the ‘Imser’ portfolio, following a sale-and-leaseback deal on 227 assets sold by the telecommunications firm, with lease agreements expiring in November 2021.

By late 2015, the portfolio consisted of 158 assets worth around €1.7 billion, generating €117 million of rent per year, according to Beni Stabili. Last November, the property firm agreed a framework agreement with Telecom Italia involving 149 properties, including new lease arrangements on 147 of the assets in exchange for a €7.5 million rent reduction, the buy-back of two properties, and a commitment by Beni Stabili to complete a €37.8 million investment programme over the next three to five years.

“This landmark financing is another illustration of the ability of Beni Stabili to gain the support of major European lenders to secure very attractive financing conditions and help the company deliver on its strategic objectives,” said Alexei Dal Pastro, general manager of Beni Stabili.