EBRD supports diversification of agribusiness in Romania: €80 million syndicated loan to help Expur develop oilseed business

The EBRD is supporting the development of the Romanian rapeseed industry along its value chain, including oilseed crushing, refining and production of edible oil and biodiesel, with a €80 million syndicated financing package to Expur S.A., a local oilseed processing company.Expur currently crushes rapeseed and sunflower seed, producing crude rapeseed oil, refined edible sunflower oil, as well as rapeseed and sunflower meal and biodiesel, for both domestic and export markets.

The EBRD financing will support Expur’s strategy to contribute to the development of the rape meal and biodiesel markets in Romania. The increased demand for rapeseed as a raw material for these products would encourage local farmers to cultivate more of the crop for domestic use.
In addition, the increased availability of rape meal, as a more cost-effective alternative to imported expensive soy meal, would also support Romanian livestock producers in their efforts to reduce the cost of animal feed, thereby reducing the cost of meat for the Romanian consumer.

The €80 million EBRD package comprises a €20 million long-term loan to finance the upgrade of Expur’s crushing facility, and a €60 million working capital facility. Half of each of the two loans will be for the Bank’s account, with the remaining amount syndicated to BRD (Société Générale Group) and Rabobank.

Expur was recently acquired by Saipol S.A.S., the French leader in oilseed crushing and vegetable oil refining. Saipol, which is part of Sofiprotéol’s Oilseed Division, processes rapeseed and sunflower into vegetable oil intended for human consumption, oil meal for animal feed, and by-products for sustainable energy and chemistry. Expur’s operating facilities and capacities strongly complement those of Saipol.

“Supporting agribusiness development with a particular focus on food processing is one of the EBRD’s priorities in Romania. This project will have a positive impact all along the food value chain, with benefits for domestic suppliers and farmers. In addition it will help Expur strengthen its operations and raise quality standards,” said Gilles Mettetal, Director of EBRD Agribusiness team.

Since the beginning of its operations in Romania, the EBRD has committed over €4.8 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy, mobilising additional investment in excess of €8 billion.
Sofiprotéol is a financial and industrial player in the French oilseed sector. It helps develop companies working within the sector through long term investment funds, and structures industrial operations through two specialized divisions: Soprol Oilseed Division (with subsidiaries SaipolExpur, Lesieur, Diester Industrie, Novance, and Oleon) and Sofial Animal Division (with subsidiaries Glon Sanders). Human and animal nutrition are at the core of Sofiprotéol’s activities whose mission consists in supporting research, selling, processing and adding value to oilseed crops while providing a fair income for all the players involved in oilseed production. Through its activities, Sofiprotéol also contributes to preventing global warming and, on a wider level, preserving the environment and developing sustainable energy and chemistry. Sofiprotéol employs over 6 000 people and has a turnover of 5.5 billion euros. www.sofiproteol.com

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