GE, as sole arranger, has structured the € 170 million pan-European transaction for Dana as a five-year multi-currency facility secured by the receivables generated across 12 operating units in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Austria and Spain. The proceeds will principally be reinvested in the European businesses, including the repayment of existing intercompany debt.

“The solution is structured as a securitisation but without rating agency involvement, which is being referred to as “Securitisation Lite”. Although already popular in the United States, this is one of the first such facilities available in Europe and will enable corporates to tap into an expanding source of additional finance. The structure specifically allows firms to maximise the leverage of their assets, across a number of different jurisdictions,” said Adam Johnson, Head of Corporate Business Development for GE Commercial Finance, Business Finance.

The new programme represents a positive development for the Dana parent company and its European operations, as well as Dana’s European customers and suppliers. The structure is intended to provide secure, independent financing for Dana’s European operations to replace reliance on support from the US parent company.  As a result Dana will continue to interact solely and directly with its customers and enjoy continued business flexibility.

“This multi-currency and multi-jurisdictional transaction marks an important step in terms of how this particular form of securitisation is set to grow over the next few years in Europe.  The package devised by the Corporate and Structured Asset Backed Finance teams is one of GE’s largest transactions of this type to date and is a unique offering in the European markets. The combination of expertise in this market, linked with cross border knowledge made this deal possible. Nonetheless, working on such an innovative structure proved an inspiring challenge,” said Adrian Spurling, Head of Structured Asset Backed Finance for GE Commercial Finance.