3 European Factories will Receive Financing from Battery Maker ACC

The construction of three “gigafactories” in France, Germany, and Italy has reached a significant financial milestone, according to ACC, a European auto battery manufacturer jointly owned by Stellantis, Mercedes, and TotalEnergies. The announcement was made on Monday.

One of the largest debt fundraising operations ever undertaken in the European automotive sector, the bank financing worth 4.4 billion euros ($4.74 billion) represents a significant portion of the company’s estimated total needed investment, which is just over 7 billion euros, according to ACC, also known as Automotive Cells Company.

ACC’s managing director, Yann Vincent, stated, “This deal with the banks reflects the very high level of confidence of these lenders in the ACC project.”

ACC’s sole financial adviser was the French lender BNP Paribas. The financing agreements were reached with a group of banks that included the French state bank Bpifrance, the Italian export insurer SACE, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, and Intesa Sanpaolo.

Four new ACC production lines—two in Termoli, Italy, one in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and a second in France—will be built with the help of the funding.

They follow the opening of the company’s first lithium-ion battery production facility in Billy-Berclau, northern France, last year.

The funding, which complements previously committed or awarded public subsidies, will be enhanced by fresh cash infusions of an undisclosed sum from ACC’s three shareholders, the company announced.

As a result, at the end of March, Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) will own 30% of ACC, Saft, which is owned by the massive oil company TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), will own 25%, and Stellantis (STLAM.MI) will hold 45% of the company.