Under the mandate, Societe Generale will lead the structuring and arrangement of a senior debt package to fund the construction of the Project. Societe Generale's scope of work spans both preparatory and implementation phases and includes development of the financing strategy; coordination of lenders' technical, market, environmental and social, insurance, audit and tax due diligence; preparation of the lenders' information package; and assistance with the negotiation.
The financing is expected to be assembled from a combination of export credit agency, commercial bank debt, multilateral and development finance institution facilities, and potential project bond or other capital markets instruments.
The appointment complements the Company's continuing relationship with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, with whom the Company has a collaboration agreement to align the Project with IFC’s environmental, social, and governance standards in anticipation of international project financing. The Project will be developed in alignment with the Equator Principles.
"Bringing Societe Generale on board marks a significant step in advancing Los Azules toward construction," said Michael Meding, Managing Director of McEwen Copper. "Societe Generale's global project finance platform and long-standing relationships with the export credit agency, multilateral and commercial banking community make them an ideal partner to help us assemble a robust, competitively priced debt package for one of the world's largest undeveloped copper projects."
