26/11/2022

Bentam on the financing of 6 biomethane production units of Waga Energy.

Bentam has advised Crédit Industriel et Commercial and Arkéa Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels as mandated lead arrangers for the financing of six new biomethane units located in France developed by Waga Energy.

image produit

The plants represent a cumulative production capacity of 180 GWh per year, i.e. the consumption of more than 25,000 French households, and will avoid the emission of approximately 30,000 tons of CO2eq per year. The portfolio includes the plant to be commissioned in March 2022 at Veolia's Val'Pôle in Claye-Souilly, one of the largest biomethane units in France. The total amount of the long-term loan facility is €22.7 million.

Waga Energy, based in Meylan (Isère), was founded in 2015 by engineers from the Air Liquide Group. Its innovative purification technology, called WAGABOX®, makes it possible to recover the gas emitted spontaneously by waste storage sites commonly known as "landfills". It provides biomethane that can be injected directly into the natural gas distribution network to replace imported fossil natural gas. The company currently operates thirteen units in France, with a further fourteen under construction in France, Spain, Canada and the US.

Waga Energy was listed on Euronext Paris in October 2021, and currently has a market capitalisation of around €600 million. Its goal is to operate 100 Wagabox units by 2026.

For the transaction, Bentam team consisted of Guillaume Ansaloni, partner, Ivanna Jhayya (financing), and Alexandra Guilluy (public law).