Arendt advises on the Luxembourg aspects of Lucara’s US$350 million senior secured Nordic bond issuance

Experts involved in the Deal

Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions

• Alexandre Gobert

Tax

• Thierry Lesage
• Bilal Ajabli
• Sophie Weyten
• Viktoria Dimitrova
• Camille Gravier
• Eleni-Lydia Lazaridou
• Marilys Noël
• Yasmine El Harsal

Corporate Services

• Jérôme Bellini
• Elvin Montes
• Valentin Poncin
• Schalk Smit
• Estelle Padonou

Arendt advised on all Luxembourg law aspects in connection with the private placement of US$350 million in senior secured Nordic bonds by Lucara Capital S.à r.l., a Luxembourg securitisation company wholly owned by Lucara Diamond Corp. being a Canadian leading producer of Type IIa diamonds, operating in Botswana and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Botswana Stock Exchange, and Nasdaq First North Growth Market.

The Bonds carry a fixed coupon rate of 12.5 percent per annum, with a five-year tenor and interest payable in quarterly instalments. The net proceeds were applied to fully repay Lucara’s existing US$220 million senior secured project finance debt package. The remaining proceeds will fund a dedicated debt service retention account covering two years of interest on the bonds and support the continued development of the underground project at the Karowe mine in Botswana (“Karowe Underground Project”), which is allowing Lucara to extract among the most exceptional, large and qualitative diamonds in the world.

The bond financing also provides Lucara with the ability to tap for a further US$50 million and the option to add a US$50 million Revolving Credit Facility, giving the Company sufficient access to capital to advance the Karowe Underground Project through to completion. The bond issuance was secured during the first and second release of the proceeds with the completion of a full and cross-border security package by Lucara Capital S.à r.l.

Arendt advised on all Luxembourg capital markets, securitisation, finance, corporate and tax aspects of the transaction.