Swiss-based energy company MET Group has secured a new €120mn medium-term loan from a group of five banks.

The committed three-year facility refinances a previous €50mn facility from May 2018 and will be used for general corporate purposes. MET has the option of increasing the size of the facility to €150mn through an accordion feature.

The four lenders involved in the previous deal – Citi, GPB International, OTP Bank and UniCredit – have all signed on once again. They’re joined by ING on this year’s loan agreement, with OTP serving as facility agent.

Commenting on the deal, Marc Pfefferli, group treasurer at MET Group, says: “MET has once again demonstrated a strong relationship with its core banking partners. We significantly increased the facility from its previous amount and are in the process to add other lenders through the accordion option.” 

Pfefferli tells GTR that, in total, there are three banks lined up to join the facility through the accordion feature in the next couple of months.

The latest transaction follows the closing of MET’s annual short-term revolving credit facilities in February, drawing in €915mn from 16 banks.

Citi, GPB International, ING, OTP and UniCredit were also all involved in that particular deal, which is being used for capital and general corporate purposes, and will aid the company’s marketing and distribution activities in 15 countries across Europe.

Having started out as a Hungarian company in 2007, with a focus on the natural gas wholesale and retail sectors in the country, MET has since expanded its operations.

The firm is now an integrated European energy company with activities in natural gas and power, and is active in multi-commodity wholesale, trading and sales, as well as energy infrastructure and industrial assets.

In the past six months, the firm has outlined plans to grow the share of renewable energy assets in its portfolio, and in October last year acquired a 100% stake in Enel Green Power Bulgaria EAD, which owns a 42-megawatt wind park in Bulgaria.