KBRA Affirms and Subsequently Withdraws the Rating of BNP Paribas' Participation in a Senior Secured Subscription Facility to InfraVia European Fund V
8 Jan 2026 | London
KBRA UK (KBRA) affirms and subsequently withdraws the A+ rating assigned to BNP Paribas' ("BNPP") participation in a €1,200 million senior secured subscription facility in the form of a replenishable term loan facility (the "Facility"), provided by a consortium of lenders (the "Lenders") to the partnerships comprising InfraVia European Fund V (the “Partnership” or the “Fund”). The rating was requested by BNPP as a participating lender in the transaction.
The Facility is a €1,200.0 million replenishable term loan facility available as short-term loans and letters of credit. The Facility is used for working capital and investment purposes including investments and is due to mature in September 2026, subject to one further one-year extension option at the Lenders' discretion. The Lenders benefit from a market standard security package consisting of security over: (i) the limited partners' (LPs) uncalled capital commitments (UCC), the rights to issue capital calls and receive proceeds of the capital contributions and (ii) the collateral accounts into which such capital contributions are required to be paid. The Lenders also benefit from security over the bank accounts into which proceeds from the underlying assets of the Fund are paid. Following an enforcement event, the Agent has enforcement rights including the right to accelerate the Facility, prevent withdrawals from the collateral accounts and to issue a capital call directly to the LPs for the purpose of repaying all amounts due under the Facility.
InfraVia European Fund V is a 2021 vintage fund which held its final close in February 2022, having received approximately €5,050.1 million in commitments. The Fund is the fifth vintage in InfraVia Capital Partners' infrastructure strategy. The investment strategy focuses on a range of infrastructure transactions with a focus on mid-market infrastructure projects in the transportation, energy, social infrastructures, utilities and communication sectors and in related services fields, with geographical focus in the Eurozone.
Key Credit Considerations
Investment fund ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative factors. The five key quantitative determinants are as follows:
- In the Asset Quality determinant, KBRA generally measures the quality of the collateral based on a weighted average scoring. For Subscription Facilities (“Sublines”), this includes an assessment using a matrix-based approach that reflects the creditworthiness of the Fund’s LP base.
- The Asset Coverage determinant measures the relative sufficiency of the pledged collateral value to repay the principal amount of the rated debt. For Sublines, this includes an evaluation of the covenants included in the Facility linked to UCC and net asset value (NAV) of the Fund, and/or advance rates applied to the UCC.
- The Liquidity determinant reflects KBRA’s assessment of the relative price discount that the underlying collateral may incur if the assets are subject to conversion into cash in order to meet scheduled or accelerated debt service requirements. Under the Liquidity determinant, KBRA considers three factors (type, complexity and price discovery / transparency) and scores these factors individually on a scale of zero to two, with two being the most liquid.
- In the Duration determinant, KBRA examines the tenor profile of the pledged collateral relative to the rated debt, and the associated vulnerability to changes in price of collateral over time.
- When appropriate, KBRA will perform a cash flow analysis in order to test the transaction’s ability to meet its rated interest and principal payment obligations under various economic, financial, and market scenarios. This is not applicable to Subscription Facilities, as LP capital calls typically occur on a non-periodic basis and the primary source of repayment for Sublines is the Fund’s UCC so once a capital call is issued, the LP is typically required to meet the capital call within a short window. Therefore, repayment capacity is analysed in the context of the prior rating determinants.
The above quantitative determinants produce a quantitative rating outcome. In addition to the above quantitative determinants, KBRA’s analysis considers a variety of qualitative factors, which can lead to upward or downward adjustments in the final rating outcome and these are assessed in the context of: (i) Manager Review; (ii) Legal Review, and (iii) Other Factors including alignment of interests, incentives to fund future capital calls and diversification within the LP base.
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