The loan will be advanced through UniCredit Corporate Banking as part of a total credit line of EUR 250m made available by the EIB to the Grimaldi Group.
This credit line, with a term of 15 years, will be deployed to co-finance four Cruise Ferry vessels, ordered by Grimaldi from Fincantieri, with an approximate total value of EUR 600m.
The first tranche of EUR 81m will fund the acquisition of the 'Cruise Barcelona', which will begin serving the Civitavecchia'Barcelona route in mid-September 2008.
The Cruise Ferry vessels built for Grimaldi are the largest freight/passenger ships ever used in the Mediterranean: they will be able to carry 2 140 passengers and 3 600 lane metres of vehicles (187 trailers and 215 cars).
"This investment illustrates the EIB's commitment to developing the motorways of the sea in the Mediterranean. The EIB is satisfied with the loan to the Grimaldi Group ' a solid Naples-based company", remarked Dario Scannapieco, EIB Vice-President with responsibility for financing operations in Italy, Malta and the western Balkans. "This project", he added, "is also in line with the Commission's policy of promoting shipping, to help curb road traffic and rebalance the different modal shares, with beneficial effects for the environment and in terms of reducing traffic".
'This new operation with the Grimaldi Group, with which we have a long and fruitful relationship', declared Gianni Coriani, Chief Executive of UniCredit Corporate Banking, 'once again shows the bank's ability to support leading corporate development projects. This is thanks also to the specialised expertise of the shipping finance team, which worked in conjunction with our Large Corporate Area ' Centre South in successfully arranging the loan'.
'The value of the EIB loan goes beyond the purely economic aspects', noted Emanuele Grimaldi, joint managing director of the Grimaldi Group. 'It is in fact an acknowledgement of the far-sighted strategy of a group that has been investing for 20 years in the motorways of the sea, a strategic infrastructure that is often underrated but which is crucial for economic growth and European cohesion. These Cruise Ferry vessels', added Mr. Grimaldi, 'are also cutting edge from an environmental standpoint: on the Civitavecchia'Barcelona route they will cut CO2 emissions by 40% compared with road transport for freight and air transport for passengers'.
Founded in 1947, the Grimaldi Group's headquarters are in Naples, Italy. The Group owns and operates a fleet consisting of more than 100 vessels and it is the world's leading operator of ships carrying cars and other roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) cargo. In 2007, the Grimaldi Group recorded a turnover in excess of EUR 2.5bn while having outstanding investments of EUR 2.2bn. In recent years, Grimaldi has invested more than EUR 1.5bn in the motorways of the sea, from the Baltic Sea to the whole of the Mediterranean.
