EMPERADOR, INC. said on Tuesday that it secured a €300-million sustainability-linked loan to refinance debt of its wholly owned subsidiary Emperador International Ltd.
“This SLL (sustainability-linked loan) serves as a milestone for the corporate, and an encouragement to proceed operating sustainably,” Emperador Chairman Winston S. Co said in an announcement on Tuesday.
Emperador and its unit Emperador Distillers, Inc. agreed to ensure the refinancing facility.
A gaggle of banks arranged the ability, with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA), Singapore Branch, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd., and DBS Bank Ltd. acting as mandated lead arrangers, underwriters, and bookrunners.
BBVA and Bank of China may even function sustainability coordinators for the transaction.
The loan is tied to 2 targets: reducing Scope 1 and a pair of greenhouse gas emission intensity and increasing the usage of renewable electricity.
“Liquor production is a really energy-intensive process and EMI has been taking responsibility to cut back its impact on the environment,” the corporate said.
The corporate said it has invested in projects to cut back its carbon footprint, including a bioenergy center and carbon capture facility in Invergordon, a biomass boiler in Jura, and renewable electricity contracts across its operations in Scotland. It also uses renewable electricity and solar panels at facilities within the Philippines, Spain, and Mexico.
The corporate said the transaction marks its first sustainability-linked loan.
Emperador is a spirits company listed on each the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange.
It has manufacturing operations within the Philippines, the UK, Spain, and Mexico, with a distribution network spanning around 100 countries.
Its portfolio includes Emperador Brandy, Fundador Brandy, and single malt whiskies akin to The Dalmore, Fettercairn, Jura, and Tamnavulin.
On the local bourse on Tuesday, Emperador shares rose by 0.13% to P15.40 apiece. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno