9th February 2021 – ELSAN has successfully placed its inaugural Sustainability-Linked Term Loan structured with the support of Natixis, a sustainable financing leader. This facility shall finance the acquisition of the group C2S. The Term Loan is indexed to sustainability goals and marks the first loan of its kind in the private hospital sector in Europe.
ELSAN is the leader in the private hospital sector in France for medical, surgical and obstetrics, and has rooted environmental and social responsibility firmly at the center of its strategy. The company has built its CSR policy (Corporate Social Responsibility) on four key ambitions over the past three years i.e. its proximity to local communities, patient care, eco-performance, and investment in its talents.
On the occasion of C2S’ acquisition, ELSAN has decided to tie its financing to ambitious goals based its CSR pillars. The interest rate of the loan will be indexed to the company’s achievement of three objectives with a premium/discount mechanism i.e. patient satisfaction, medical waste reduction, and improvement in the quality of work life of its employees.
ELSAN operates right across France and is firmly established at the heart of the community, with three people out of five in the country living less than 40 km from one of its private healthcare facilities. The planned acquisition of the C2S group will enable ELSAN to further strengthen its local presence in the Burgundy-Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhone-Alps regions.
This Sustainability-Linked Term Loan marks a first in the private hospitals sector in Europe, and has attracted strong interest from investors, who increasingly seek to incorporate Environmental, Social and Governance criteria (ESG) into their investments. This success has also enabled ELSAN to apply the Sustainability-Linked feature to its entire range of senior debt. With France still facing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, this transaction extends ELSAN’s coverage across the country and helps to further consolidate the French healthcare system, in coordination with all public and private healthcare stakeholders.
“This funding deal is highly innovative for our sector and testifies to the importance of our social responsibility as the cornerstone of our strategy and at the center of each and every action we take. Our commitment to sustainable development goes hand-in-hand with the medical excellence we offer in France, drawing on the daily engagement of our 25,000 staff and 6,500 practitioners in our facilities right across France” states Thierry Chiche, Chief Executive Officer of ELSAN.
“We are proud to have structured with ELSAN this innovative deal, which highlights our expertise and our clients’ trust in our role as both advisor and coordinator on the sustainability-linked loans market. This transaction is the first of its kind in the private hospital sector in Europe and marks a key component of our strategy to support our clients in developing and promoting their commitment to sustainable development” states Mohamed Kallala, Co-Head of Corporate & Investment Banking, Natixis.
