REG - ATOME PLC - ATOME signs definitive debt agreements

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RNS Number : 4943W  ATOME PLC  13 March 2026

 

13 March 2026

 

ATOME PLC

("ATOME" or the "Company")

 

ATOME signs definitive debt agreements for the US$650 million Villeta Project,
Paraguay

 

Signed at the IDB Group Annual Meetings in Asuncion, Paraguay

 

ATOME (AIM: ATOM), the world-leading low-carbon fertiliser developer and the
UK's only dedicated international industrial scale low-carbon fertiliser
company, is pleased to announce the signing of the debt financing documents
("the Definitives") with the Lenders for the US$420 million total debt package
 in respect of the US$650 million landmark, 260,000 tonnes-per-year,
low-carbon fertiliser plant at Villeta, Paraguay ("Villeta" or "the Project").

 

Highlights:

 

 •    Definitive debt financing documents signed for the entire debt package of
      US$420 million
 •    Signing of the definitive equity agreements projected to follow within 30 days
 •    Recent world events highlight ATOME's beneficial position as a stable producer
      of low-carbon fertiliser, independent of fossil fuels

 

Introduction

 

During the Inter-American Development Bank Group's ("IDB Group") Annual
Meetings held in Asuncion, Paraguay on 12 March 2026, the first to be held in
the country since 2017, the Definitives relating to the structuring of and
debt financing for the US$650 million Project funding were signed. The
availability of debt commitments under the Definitives are subject to and
conditional upon the equity documentation in mutually agreed form being signed
between ATOME and the Equity Consortium within 30 days.

 

The Definitives

 

The Definitives were signed by James Spalding, President of ATOME Paraguay
S.A.E., in the presence of ATOME Chair, Peter Levine, between ATOME's
subsidiary, ATOME Paraguay S.A.E. ("ProjectCo."), and the following lenders
comprising the entire lender consortium ("Lenders"):

 

 (i)    Inter-American Investment Corporation ("IDB Invest"), the private sector arm
        of IDB Group
 (ii)   International Finance Corporation, ("IFC"), part of the World Bank Group
 (iii)  European Investment Bank, ("EIB"), the lending arm of the European Union
 (iv)   Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V, ("FMO"),
        the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank majority owned by the Dutch state;
        and,
 (v)    Green Climate Fund ("GCF"), a fund created under the United Nations Framework
        Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

 

The Debt structure

 

The Company has secured fifteen-year debt financing on highly competitive
terms. The structure reflects Villeta's robust project economics, its
alignment with food security, climate and employment goals, and Paraguay's
newly attained investment grade sovereign status. The strategic importance of
our project as a new model is reflected by the participation of Global
Development Finance Institutions, with approximately 25% on concessional
terms, materially improving the overall cost of capital and project returns.

 

Next Steps

 

The equity documents are in the final stage of negotiations and will set out
ATOME's and the various other parties' respective and expected financial
participation in and contributions to the Project's US$244 million equity
funding, as well as matters of governance and management of the investment
which will be made into ProjectCo. As part of the equity arrangements, it is
envisaged that ATOME will provide management services to the Project on
mutually agreed terms. This is expected to include the provision, on a
remunerative basis, of the Chair, CEO and Project Director roles, as well as
certain other personnel and services to the ProjectCo.

 

Whilst final terms are still being negotiated, the resolution of the equity
documentation is projected to be before the expiration of the said 30-day
period with ATOME and its partners preparing to embark on the construction
phase as soon as possible.

 

Recent World Events

 

Recent world events have highlighted ATOME's beneficial position. Villeta will
produce fertiliser without the need for fossil-fuels, with a low fixed-cost,
long-term supply of power, situated in the middle of one of the largest
fertiliser markets in the world and benefit from a long-term take-or-pay
offtake agreement for all of Villeta's production from Yara International with
price-protection mechanisms and premium upside potential.

 

Further Announcements

 

It is expected that further to the signing, the Lenders' will be making their
own separate announcements during the course of today. A further announcement
in respect of the equity aspects will follow in due course.

 

Peter Levine, Chair of ATOME PLC, commented:

 

"We are sincerely grateful to the Lenders for their tremendous support for
this flagship project which ATOME has originated, developed, and is expected
by them to continue to manage on behalf of the lending and equity funders."

 

"This is a significant, world-leading project with clear environmental
benefits. Villeta will enable fertiliser to be produced at industrial scale
without reliance on fossil fuels, supported by a stable, long-term renewable
power supply, which we believe will be a game-changer for the fertiliser
sector, particularly in the increasing important South American region."

 

For further information on ATOME, please visit the Company's Curation Connect
showcase at: https://app.curationconnect.com/company/Atome-71605
(https://app.curationconnect.com/company/Atome-71605)

 

For more information, please visit https://www.atomeplc.com or contact:

 

 ATOME PLC                                +44 (0) 113 337 2210
 Nikita Levine, Investor Relations
info@atomeplc.com

 Beaumont Cornish (Nominated Adviser)     +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
 Roland Cornish, Michael Cornish

 Stifel (Joint Broker)                    +44 (0) 20 7710 7600

 Jason Grossman, Ashton Clanfield
 SP Angel (Joint Broker)                  +44 (0) 20 3490 0470
 Richard Hail, Jen Clarke
 FTI Consulting (Communications Adviser)  +44 (0) 20 3727 1000

                                        atome@fticonsulting.com (mailto:atome@fticonsulting.com)
 Ben Brewerton

MAR

 

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute
inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No
596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal)
Act 2018. Upon publication of this announcement, this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain. The person who arranged for the
release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Peter Levine,
Chairman.

 

About ATOME

 

ATOME PLC is an AIM-listed company targeting green fertiliser production with
445-megawatt of projects in Paraguay and a further pipeline of potential
projects in Central America. ATOME has now created its ATOME POWER division
which is in the early stages of developing a significant green power
generation and infrastructure business. ATOME's projects are situated at the
heart of one of the world's largest food export hubs - the Mercosur region in
the Southern Cone of South America with the Argentinian and Brazilian markets
next door. ATOME's production will disrupt the region's heavy dependence on
imported fossil fuel generated fertilizer, contributing to regional food
security goals.

 

ATOME's first project in Villeta, Paraguay, benefits from a long term
renewable power purchase agreement and a 30-hectare site in a tax-free zone,
 and a 10-year Definitive Offtake Agreement signed with Yara International,
the leading international fertiliser company, for offtake of all of Villeta's
green fertiliser production. In early 2025, ATOME announced Hy24, the leading
clean hydrogen asset manager, as anchor and lead equity investor in the
project, and confirmed the signing of the US$465 million fixed-price EPC
contract with leading ammonia and fertilizer engineering specialist Casale
S.A.. There is a further up to 300MW of renewable power reserved for ATOME in
Paraguay for our next project.

 

In Costa Rica, The National Ammonia Corporation S.A. was formed in 2022 with
local partner Cavendish S.A. based in Costa Rica to develop green fertiliser
projects for the region. As well as straddling the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans, Costa Rica is a democratic Central American country. In agriculture,
Costa Rica is the second largest supplier of pineapples in the world and is in
the top ten banana growers. ATOME is further evaluating up to 9 GW of
prospective projects.

 

All power for ATOME is from 100% renewable sources and all chosen sites are
located close to the power and water sources and export facilities to serve
significant domestic and then international demand. Roughly a third of
human-caused GHG emissions is linked to food production according to UN data,
and fertiliser use and production is the source of more emissions than the
shipping and aviation industries combined. ATOME's green Calcium Ammonium
Nitrate product will contribute to decarbonising the food sector from the
bottom up, getting to the root of the food value chain's emissions. ATOME's
renewably-generated fertiliser is both clean and promotes high crop yields,
unlike conventional nitrogen fertiliser which has a heavy carbon footprint.

 

The Company has a green-focused Board which is supported by major shareholders
including Peter Levine, Schroders, a leading fund manager, and Baker Hughes, a
global technology company operating in the energy and industry sectors.

 

Other information

 

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated
Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's
responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a
responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under
the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed
solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and
will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections
afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to
the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter
referred to in it.

 

-ends-

 

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