Norway. Yara International ASA

Date of agreement:17 Dec 2007
Country:Norway
Customer:Yara International ASA
Amount in EUR:EUR 125 million
NACE sector / loan type:Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products

Project

The loan totalling EUR 125 million has been granted to Norwegian Yara International ASA for financing the acquisition of Finnish Kemira GrowHow from the Finnish state. Yara was established in 2004 as a fertiliser producer through a demerger from the Norwegian Norsk Hydro Group. Yara is the world’s largest fertiliser company measured by revenues and the leading producer of nitrogen fertilisers. Most of Yara’s production facilities are located in Europe. The company runs joint-venture operations in other parts of the world and exports to more than 120 countries. Kemira GrowHow has been listed on the Helsinki stock exchange since October 2004 after the demerger from the Kemira Group. At year-end 2006, Kemira GrowHow employed 2,500 people, had production in eight countries and sales in over 100 countries.

Sustainability summary

As a result of the acquisition, Yara will apply a new technology in Kemira GrowHow’s production, which will lead to a substantial reduction in emissions of the greenhouse gas N2O. Potential air and water emissions from Kemira GrowHow’s existing facilities pose key environmental issues in the project. A due diligence investigation conducted by Kemira GrowHow has identified no material problems. Yara and Kemira GrowHow both comply with relevant EU legislation and all of Yara’s plants are certified according to both ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.