The resources will be earmarked for the company’s growth plan, which specialises in offering solutions to local authorities in the field of public lighting, energy efficiency and smart services, for digitalisation and energy saving initiatives.
The financing was granted by Intesa Sanpaolo, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, UniCredit, BNL BNP Paribas and Sparkasse – Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano and is partially assisted by the SACE Green Guarantee.
Milan, 22 September 2023 – City Green Light, a company which operates in the field of public lighting, energy efficiency and smart city services, has obtained resources of just under EUR 200 million from a pool of financial institutions to support its growth plan and investments in energy efficiency and digitalisation, including new business lines and M&A transactions.
The resources will mainly be used to implement investment projects dedicated to the energy transition and digitalisation of public administrations, thus promoting integrated energy efficiency solutions in key sectors, including public lighting, public building management and energy communities.
Specifically, the banks involved in the operation, partially assisted by the SACE Green Guarantee for EUR 96 million, are Intesa Sanpaolo, which through its IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division acted as Lender Coordinator, Bookrunner, Mandated Lead Arranger, Agent Bank and Sace Agent, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, UniCredit, BNL BNP Paribas and Sparkasse – Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano as Bookrunners and Mandated Lead Arrangers. Intesa Sanpaolo also acted as Green Loan Coordinator for the structuring of the green lines, amounting to EUR 192 million out of the total EUR 197 million financing, aimed at supporting the green projects included in the Company’s plan.
City Green Light, established in 2017, is jointly owned by the Italian Energy Efficiency Fund, Marguerite Infrastructure Italy II, and the European Investment Bank – EIB (through Ipin 2E). It serves more than 250 municipalities throughout Italy, boasting strong experience in the management of more than 900,000 lighting points, 100 road tunnels and 1,600 security cameras.
The funding, with a duration of about 7 years, falls within the Green New Deal objectives, due to the positive impact in terms of climate change mitigation.
“In a general context that, as never before, imposes priority on the implementation of actions to favour the green transition, the financing operation just concluded will allow us to continue with the execution of a transformative business plan that aims to complete our evolution from a pure operator in the public lighting sector to a leader in the supply of smart and energy-efficient services to Italian public administrations at all levels”, says Eugenio Colla, Chief Financial Officer of City Green Light.
Michele Sorrentino, Head of the Italian Network of Intesa Sanpaolo’s IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division, says: “We are very pleased to be able to support City Green Light’s virtuous development plan. Making cities more sustainable and smarter with a more rational use of public lighting is essential and indicates a turning point towards energy transition. The Intesa Sanpaolo Group has always been sensitive with regard to this issue and it drives us to support companies working in this direction, also in line with the objectives set out in the Green Revolution and Ecological Transition Mission of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan)”.
Carlo Lamari, Head of Infrastructure at CDP, said: “Promoting investments that have a clear impact on local communities and at the same time accelerate the energy and digital transition of public administrations is one of the main objectives of CDP’s Strategic Plan. The transaction that we have concluded today, in synergy with the banking system and Sace, in favour of City Green Light makes us proud because it represents a further important step on the path towards an increasingly green economy”.
Cristina Morelli, Managing Director Business Corporate at SACE, underlines:“Accelerating the ecological transition of Italian businesses is a pillar of our INSIEME2025 business plan. Thanks to our cross team of experts, SACE is able to promote excellence and support the community by carrying out this systemic transaction in the public lighting, while maintaining the path set by our mission”.
Francesco Iannella, North East Regional Manager at UniCredit, comments: “For us at UniCredit, supporting City Green Light has a twofold significance. On the one hand, it allows us to support a dynamic company that has made sustainability its core business and will now be able to offer itself as a partner in the processes for improving the energy efficiency of public bodies. On the other, it is concrete proof, yet again, of our sense of responsibility towards the communities in which we operate”.
Stefano Manfrone, BNL BNP Paribas North East Territorial Director: “BNL BNP Paribas’ support for City Green Light is part of the Bank’s commitment towards entrepreneurial ventures that combine development, innovation and sustainability. Through its investment in transactions of this type, BNL confirms its active presence in the territories, to assist companies in their national and international growth plans for the benefit of the country’s economy and for the further dissemination of Italian manufacturing and technological excellence throughout the world”.
The Head of the Corporate Banking and International Services Department of Sparkasse-Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano, Emiliano Picello, states: “The pool of banks, among which Sparkasse – Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano plays an important role, decided to support City Green Light’s strategic development plan aimed at pursuing sustainability, safety and energy efficiency goals. By participating in this important initiative, Sparkasse – Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano is illustrating how the objectives stated in its Strategic Plan are fulfilled on a daily basis by financially supporting enterprises that deserve attention and demonstrate that they are fully realising their growth objectives compatible with the ESG sustainability KPIs adopted by the bank”.
SACE, the financial insurance group led by Alessandra Ricci, plays a leading role in Italy’s ecological transition by issuing green guarantees on domestic projects that promote economic activities with a lower environmental impact.
The company was assisted by Vitale&Co as financial advisor, PwC Strategy& and SINLOC as industrial advisors and Ashurst as legal advisor, while the financing banks were assisted by Legance.
CITY GREEN LIGHT
City Green Light S.r.l. is an E.S.Co (Energy Service Company) operating in the energy saving and energy efficiency fields, jointly owned by leading national and international investment funds specialised in the sector. The company represents national excellence that focuses on innovation and the Green Economy by proposing solid development models for energy efficiency and smart services with the aim of accompanying public administrations and companies in the ecological, energy and digital transition. It currently operates in more than 250 municipalities throughout Italy, serving more than 5 million citizens.
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INTESA SANPAOLO
Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy’s leading banking group – serving families, businesses and the real economy – with a significant international presence. Intesa Sanpaolo’s distinctive business model makes it a European leader in Wealth Management, Protection & Advisory, highly focused on digital and fintech, in particular with Isybank, the Group’s digital bank. An efficient and resilient Bank, it benefits from its wholly-owned product factories in asset management and insurance. The Group’s strong ESG commitment includes providing €115 billion in impact lending by 2025 to communities and for the green transition, and €500 million in contributions to support people most in need, positioning Intesa Sanpaolo as a world leader in terms of social impact. Intesa Sanpaolo is committed to Net Zero by 2030 for its own emissions and by 2050 for its loan and investment portfolios. An engaged patron of Italian culture, Intesa Sanpaolo has created its own network of museums, the Gallerie d’Italia, to host the bank’s artistic heritage and as a venue for prestigious cultural projects.
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CASSA DEPOSITI E PRESTITI
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is the National Promotional Institute which has been supporting the Italian economy since 1850. The main goal of CDP is to accelerate the industrial and infrastructural development of Italy to boost its economic and social growth. CDP focuses its activities on sustainable development at local level, supporting the innovation and growth of Italian enterprises, also in the international arena. It partners local authorities, in a financing and advisory capacity, to create infrastructures and improve services of public value. CDP also participates actively in international cooperation initiatives to realize projects in developing countries and emerging markets. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is entirely financed by private capital, through the issuing of Postal Savings Bonds and Postal Savings Passbooks, and through issues on national and international financial markets.
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UNICREDIT
UniCredit is a pan-European commercial bank with a unique service model in Italy, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. Our purpose is to empower communities to progress, delivering the
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BNL BNP PARIBAS
BNL BNP Paribas, with 110 years of activity, is one of the main Italian banking groups, present throughout the Country. It offers a wide range of products and services to meet the multiple needs of its customers (individuals, businesses, and the Public Administration). It is part of BNP Paribas Group since 2006, present in 64 countries, with more than 184,000 collaborators, 145,000 of which in Europe, where it operates in four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy, and Luxembourg. BNP Paribas holds key positions in its major business sectors: “Commercial, Personal Banking & Services”; “Investment & Protection Services” and “Corporate & Institutional Banking”. BNL BNP Paribas is particularly committed – like the entire Group – to economic, social, and environmental sustainability; a #PositiveBanking strategy that summarises the Bank’s ambition to generate, through its business, a positive impact on customers, collaborators, and the entire community, contributing to a more sustainable future.
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SACE
SACE is the Italian insurance and finance company, controlled by the Ministry for the Economy and Finance, specialised in supporting businesses and the national economic fabric through a wide range of tools and solutions to support competitiveness in Italy and worldwide. For forty-five years, the SACE group has been the reference partner for Italian companies that export and grow on foreign markets. It also supports the banking system to facilitate, with its financial guarantees, companies’ access to credit with a role recently expanded by new instruments to support liquidity, investment for competitiveness and sustainability under Italy’s Green New Deal, starting with the domestic market. With a portfolio of insured transactions and guaranteed investments of €164 billion, SACE, together with all Group companies – SACE FCT which operates in factoring, SACE BT active in Credit, Surety Bonds and Other Property Damage and SACE SRV, specialised in credit recovery and information asset management activities – serves over 40 thousand companies, especially SMEs, supporting their growth in Italy and in around 200 foreign markets.
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Sparkasse – Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano (sparkasse.it) is one of the most important independent Savings Banks in Italy. The acquisition of CiviBank in 2022 positions the Sparkasse Group as the most important territorial independent banking institution in Italy´s north east, ranking immediately behind the four major national banking groups. The group is present throughout the North East and abroad in Munich, with a network of 170 branches, where more than 1,900 employees work. Among the main figures: €28 bn assets under administration, €18 bn total deposits, €10 bn net lending. Founded in 1854, the Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano, the leading bank in Trentino-Alto Adige, has been a joint-stock company since 1992 and has around 24,000 shareholders.
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