EBRD funds Yıldırım’s purchase of Albanian metal miner

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a $28 million loan to Yıldırım Holding, a Turkish conglomerate and longstanding Bank client, for the acquisition of AlbChrome, a metal mining company in Albania.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Credit Europe Bank will co-finance the purchase with loans of $25 million and $14 million, respectively, the EBRD said in a statement.

Yıldırım Holding is one of the largest exporters of ferrochrome globally. The mineral is crucial to the production of stainless steel and other metal alloys.

Chromium, a component of ferrochrome, is also used in many other industries, including the production of electric cars.

EBRD financing will be provided through two facilities: up to $8.4 million to refinance AlbChrome's existing debt and up to $9.6 million to Yıldırım Albanian Mining Investments, a subsidiary of the Turkish conglomerate, to partially fund the acquisition.

"The EBRD is supporting Yildirim's expansion into a new market, which will not only bring new foreign direct investment to Albania, but a focus to the sustainable development of AlbChrome. The company will be the first entity in the country to develop a roadmap for effective climate action," said Charlotte Ruhe, EBRD Managing Director for Central and South-Eastern Europe.

To date, the EBRD has committed almost €1.8 billion to projects in Albania. In 2021, EBRD investment in the country exceeded 200 million euros, the development bank said.