DBL Group secures $43M DEG debt facility to fund knitwear acquisition

DBL Group, a Bangladesh-based textile manufacturer, has signed a $43 million long-term debt financing agreement with DEG — Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, the German development finance institution. Of the total, $16 million is co-financed through the Global Innovation Investment Fund (GIIF), set up by DEG and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The money funds DBL Group's acquisition of Glory Textiles & Apparels Ltd. (GTAL), a vertically integrated knitwear firm, and its conversion into a fully integrated, DBL-standard facility.

The facility marks the third financing partnership between DBL Group and DEG. Earlier deals backed Color City Ltd. and Matin Spinning Mills Ltd.

The investment is expected to create 2,150 jobs, 35% of them held by women recruited from local communities. DEG will also support GTAL's decarbonisation plan through its Business Support Services.

The deal reflects development finance flowing into Bangladesh's export-oriented textile sector, tying capital to job creation and lower-carbon manufacturing.