Bär & Karrer: Guess Europe 250 million sustainability- linked credit facility
Guess has entered into the revolving credit facility through its wholly-owned Swiss subsidiary, Guess Europe. The EUR 250 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility has been signed with UBS Switzerland as Mandated Lead Arranger, Joint Bookrunner, Sustainability Coordinator, Agent and Lender and with Credit Suisse as Mandated Lead Arranger, Joint Bookrunner and Lender as well as additional international banks as part of a syndicate.
The 250 million euro European credit facility will focus on three key pillars: Operating with Integrity, Empowering our People, and Protecting the Environment. The interest rate of the facility will be subject to an annual adjustment based on sustainability goals aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the use of sustainably sourced materials, and increasing the penetration of the Company’s Guess ECO products. The facility has an initial term of five years, with an option to extend the maturity date by up to two years and an option to expand the facility by up to €100 million, subject to certain conditions. The new facility replaced certain short-term borrowing arrangements with various banks totaling €120 million.
Carlos Alberini, Guess CEO, commented “Our new €250 million European credit facility reflects the importance of the European region to our overall company as our largest segment, as well as our lenders’ confidence in our strategy. We remain highly committed to our goal of protecting the environment and see sustainability as fully integrated into our operations. This new credit facility will not only provide incremental access to longer term capital but will also align financial incentives with our sustainability goals. In our company, we continue to make every decision and take every action with the long-term in mind.”
Established in 1981, GUESS began as a jeans company and has since successfully grown into a global lifestyle brand. Guess designs, markets, distributes and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, eyewear, footwear and other related consumer products. Their products are distributed through branded Guess stores as well as better department and specialty stores around the world. Currently the company directly operated 1,068 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Bär & Karrer acted as legal counsel to Guess Europe. The team was led by Paolo Bottini (pictured) and included Faton Aliu, Micha Schilling, Saliba Betar, Edoardo Buzzi and Nico Hunziker (all financing and corporate/m&a). Daniel Lehmann and Michel Morelato, both from tax, were also involved.
