Zaandam, the Netherlands, December 11, 2020 - Ahold Delhaize today announces that it has successfully closed a €1 billion, Sustainability-linked Revolving Credit Facility
Through this Facility, Ahold Delhaize draws a connection between its cost of borrowing and the achievement of the following ambitions:
- Food waste reduction: as measured by percentage reduction in tons of food waste per million Euro food sales and supporting the UN SDG 12.3;
- Carbon emission reduction: as measured by percentage reduction of Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2-equivalent emissions and aligned with Ahold Delhaize SBTi-certified 2030 targets;
- Promotion of healthier eating: as measured by percentage of own brand food sales from healthy products.
Ahold Delhaize will report on the progress on these ambitions in the company's annual report.
Natalie Knight, Chief Financial Officer, said: "This is an important facility for Ahold Delhaize that ensures we maintain our financial flexibility. After having issued the first euro-denominated Sustainability Bond in the Retail industry in June 2019, we believe that linking this facility with our significant Healthy & Sustainable ambition will deliver a positive outcome for all stakeholders."
The new Facility has a maturity of three years with two one-year extension options.?The Facility also includes a mechanism allowing the company to anticipate the discontinuation of the US dollar interbank benchmark interest rate. A syndicate of 16 relationship banks participate in the Facility.
ABN AMRO and Société Générale acted as Coordinators and Sustainability Coordinators on the Facility.
Cautionary notice
This communication includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Words such as reinforcing, alignment, strategy, commitments, ambition(s), reduction, promotion, progress, ensures, maintain, believe, deliver, outcome, maturity, options, anticipate, discontinuation or other similar words or expressions are typically used to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and that may cause actual results of Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (the "Company") to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the Company's public filings and other disclosures. Forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company's management and assumptions based on information currently available to the Company's management. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and the Company does not assume any obligation to update such statements, except as required by law.
