LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Atome announced on Friday that it has received in-principle approval from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for up to $135m in senior debt financing for its flagship green fertiliser project in Villeta, Paraguay.
The AIM-traded firm described the EIB as a core member of its consortium of senior debt providers, and as one of the world's largest multilateral financial institutions and a leading player in climate finance.

It said the institution, wholly owned by the European Union's 27 member states, had invested more than €270m in Paraguay since 1959, and aimed to mobilise €1trn in environmental and climate-related investments by 2030.

The announcement followed earlier approval from the Green Climate Fund and marked a significant milestone as Atome advanced toward final investment decision, which it aimed to close by the end of September.

"The European Investment Bank board's in-principle approval of $135m senior debt finance is another important milestone in the Villeta Project's maturity, credibility and genuine climate objectives," said Atome chief executive officer Olivier Mussat.

"EIB is one of the largest providers of climate finance in the world and we are pleased to have EIB as one of the key supporters of this impactful, first-of-a-kind project."

Atome said the full financing details would be finalised following standard stage two procedures, alongside the completion of the debt package with its consortium of development finance institutions.

Progress was also being made on the formation of the project's equity consortium.

At 1510 BST, shares in Atome were up 5.05% at 52p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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