ICO participates with EBN and Santander in the EUR 31.2 million financing to PLD, secured by CESCE

The Instituto de Crédito Oficial, Banco Santander and EBN Banco have signed with the Spanish space launcher company PLD Space a syndicated loan in the amount of EUR 31.2 million, under the cover of Cesce's Strategic Investment Policy and with the legal advice of Deloitte and Watson Farley & Williams.


 

This funding is earmarked for the MIURA 5 space launcher programme, both for its technological development and for the extension of PLD Space's industrial capabilities, in particular the associated infrastructure. It will also consolidate the company's corporate growth, which is expected to end 2024 with 300 employees. PLD Space's objective is to perform the first launch of MIURA 5 by the end of 2025 and to start commercial activity in 2026 with the ultimate goal of exceeding 30 launches per year by 2030.

Banco Santander and EBN Banco act as co-managing banks for this syndicated loan, in which ICO is also participating. In addition, EBN Banco acts as the agent bank and collateral agent. The financing is insured by CESCE, as part of its line of insurance for strategic investments in the aerospace sector. 

The deal was signed at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise and was presided over by the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla, who accompanied the representatives of the entities involved in the financing project.

López Senovilla stressed that "this transaction, part of the PERTE Aerospace programme, reflects the Government's commitment to support Spanish companies in their growth, as in the case of this project for the special launcher MIURA 5, under the coverage of Cesce on behalf of the State".

The transaction is a milestone in Europe in a sector where bank financing is a rare approach. Furthermore, the achievement of this breakthrough demonstrates that PLD Space's business model is very close to market, with a high level of operational and financial maturity.

Ezequiel Sanchez, CEO of PLD Space, said: "It’s a success for us to have secured the backing of major banks such as Banco Santander and EBN Banco, as well as insurance from Cesce, in a very unusual transaction in the space launcher sector, which allows us to move forward with our plans, while protecting our shareholders' investment.

Itziar Letamendi, Global Head of Growth Debt at Banco Santander, said: "We are delighted to support this deal and thereby contribute to the development of leading sectors such as aerospace. The MIURA 5 project testifies to the technological capabilities of Spanish companies and their capacity to compete in Europe and the world. Santander is proud to participate and support the success of this project" 

Rafael Gómez Perezagua, President of EBN Banco, comments: "For our institution it is a source of pride to be able to contribute to the development and internationalisation of the Spanish business fabric, even more so in sectors with high added value such as aerospace and with a project as important and strategic as MIURA 5, which PLD Space leads with its wealth of expertise, and to do so based on our philosophy of tailor-made investment banking and participation alongside extraordinary partners, in this case, such as ICO, CESCE and Banco Santander".

José Carlos García de Quevedo, Chairman of ICO, stressed that "the ICO Group's participation in this loan shows our commitment to promote, in collaboration with the private sector, high-impact projects developed within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which generate quality employment and boost the growth of Spanish companies". 

About PLD Space

PLD Space is a Spanish company in the aerospace sector, a pioneer and role model in Europe in the development of reusable rockets, with recognised prestige in the sector and a solid project that is materialised in its family of MIURA launch vehicles. Launchers that place Spain among the small number of countries with the capacity to successfully send small satellites into space. 
PLD Space was founded in 2011 by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú with the aim of facilitating access to space. The company, headquartered in Elche (Alicante) and with technical facilities in Teruel, Huelva and French Guiana, has a team of more than 220 professionals and 120 million euros in funding to date.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading commercial bank founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain and one of the world's largest banks by market capitalisation. The group's activities are consolidated into five global businesses: Retail & Commercial Banking, Digital Consumer Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Wealth Management & Insurance and Payments (PagoNxt and Cards). This model allows the bank to better leverage its unique combination of global scale and local leadership. Santander aims to be the best open platform for financial services for individuals, SMEs, companies, financial institutions and governments, and its mission is to contribute to the progress of people and businesses by making things simple, personal and fair. Santander is making progress in responsible banking and has set itself several targets, including providing EUR 220 billion in green finance from 2019 to 2030. In the first quarter of 2024, Banco Santander had EUR 1.3 trillion in total customer funds, 166 million customers, 8,400 branches and 211,000 employees.

Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (Santander CIB) is the global business division that supports corporate and institutional clients with tailor-made services and value-added wholesale products that meet their needs, taking into account their complexity and sophistication, as well as responsible banking criteria that contribute to the progress of society.

About EBN Banco

The EBN Group, with more than 30 years of experience in the Spanish banking and financial market, carries out its activities through EBN Bancoand its fund management company EBN Capital SGIIC and the company EBN Titulización. 

The Group is currently implementing its corporate strategy focused on business and investment banking through corporate finance, treasury and capital markets activities, corporate debt issuance and equity operations, asset securitisation, M&A advisory, specialised financing and, on the other hand, through internet banking services to individuals via its range of products: time deposits, marketing of clean classes of investment funds from other fund managers through its Investment Funds Supermarket and managed portfolios.

About Cesce

Cesce is the head of a group of companies that offers comprehensive solutions for commercial risk management and the issuance of surety insurance and guarantees in Europe and Latin America. In its activity as an Export Credit Agency (ECA) on behalf of the Spanish State, it manages export credit insurance and medium and long-term risk coverage for electro-intensive consumers, a performance that has been recognised by TXF to rank Cesce as the best-rated ECA in the world in 2024. The company drives the long-term growth of its more than 135,000 customers by providing them with smart trade credit management solutions that span the entire business value chain - market research, risk management and transfer, and access to finance - and surety and guarantee solutions that enable them to take on new projects and businesses. After more than 50 years in the market, the company has proven to be a stable group and the most solvent of the main Spanish and European credit and surety insurance companies with a solvency ratio of 258% at the end of the financial year 2023.

About ICO

The Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) is the Spanish national promotional bank, attached to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise. It promotes innovative and sustainable business projects in Spain and other markets by providing loans and other forms of financing, thereby contributing to sustainable growth. As a national promotional bank, it offers financing to businesses, particularly SMEs and the self-employed.