French business park specialist Silic has raised roughly EUR 175 mln through a six-year convertible bond issue undertaken to improve its financial structure and to help finance its development projects. The bonds, which are convertible in cash or shares, mature on January 1, 2017 and are structured as Ornane bonds, and can therefore be converted into new or existing shares.

BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley have lead-arranged the operation, while Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Lazard-Natixis acted as co-arrangers.

Silic announced earlier in November that it planned to carry out a EUR 175 mln bond issue, with a EUR 25 mln extension option.

'The success of the issue reinforces our ambitions with regards to the development projects of Silic,' general director Philippe Lemoine said. Silic, which is majority-owned by insurance group Groupama, has ongoing projects at La Défense, Nanterre-Préfecture, Orly-Rungis, and Roissy-Paris-Nord 2-Saint Denis.