BNP Paribas cemented its lead in European loan markets with a run of headline financings that showcased both balance sheet firepower and advisory depth.
The roughly €5.8 billion ($6.8 billion) underwritten package for XP Fibre was one notable example: acting as sole debt adviser, lead underwriter and bookrunner, the bank delivered the continent’s largest digital infrastructure loan and, by stitching a global private placement take-out behind it, set an example of how brownfield fibre assets can be capitalised.
For British utility Octopus Energy, it supported a debut syndicated revolving credit and term-loan mix with maturities moved beyond the standard three- and five-year grid, persuading a broad club of lenders to back the borrower’s journey.
In acquisition finance, the bank underwrote facilities for logistics champion DSV and for EP Corporate Group – both deals demonstrating BNPP’s ability to embed debt advice months before a transaction reaches the finish line.
Other landmark event-driven work included devising the leverage strategy that enabled Nayarit Participations to finance the 16.7% stake in D’Ieteren Group, and facilitating significant buy-outs by KKR, including a €1.2 billion bridge for its purchase of smart-meter operator SMS plc and a €1.65 billion facility backing its take-private of renewables developer Encavis.
Threading through these deals is a financing platform that marries sector insight with capital-structure intuition and distributes risk across a pan-European loan investor base
The bank was also highly active in real-asset lending. It arranged the year’s biggest shipping loan for GasLog and ran point on the financing behind Mileway, 2024’s largest European real estate deal. Its capabilities in new-economy sectors were equally clear: BNPP was mandated lead arranger and hedge provider on the first financing for Europe’s pioneering H2 Green Steel plant and led the largest battery-storage funding ever completed in Italy.
Threading through these deals is a financing platform that marries sector insight with capital-structure intuition and distributes risk across a pan-European loan investor base. This model has driven a noticeable market share increase during the review period and ensured the bank remained present on every marquee transaction its clients brought to market.
According to Nicolas Rabier, co-head of investment grade finance, loan capital markets, EMEA: “We have the ability to be extremely flexible and reactive, bringing the right financing expertise at the right moment so clients get the structure they truly need – whether investment-grade, leveraged or asset-backed.”
Giulio Baratta, co-head of investment grade finance, debt capital markets, EMEA, adds: “Our DCM origination teams are fully plugged into BNP Paribas’s global distribution networks, enabling product-agnostic advice that puts the client first.”
