Clifford Chance advises Covage Infra Concessions Holding and Covage Infra Concessions on hybrid debt refinancing

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Covage Infra Concessions Holding (“CICH”) and Covage Infra Concessions (“CIC”) on the successful completion of a hybrid refinancing of their respective debts, implemented at CIC level.

CIC is a French wholesale telecommunications operator and part of the Altitude group, providing fibre-to-the-office (“FTTO”) services to businesses across France.

CIC is a French wholesale telecommunications operator and part of the Altitude group, providing fibre-to-the-office (“FttO”) services to businesses across France.

The refinancing comprises seven-year bank term loans with variable and fixed-rate tranches. It will support the continued development of CIC’s FttO network and refinance CICH’s existing debt with Schroders, as well as CIC’s debt with various senior lenders.

The finance parties comprised Arkéa, Auxifip, La Banque Postale and MUFG as lenders under the variable-rate term loans; Edmond de Rothschild as lender under the fixed-rate term loan; Arkéa, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Lyonnais, La Banque Postale and MUFG as hedging banks; and La Banque Postale as agent and security agent.

Paris partner Paul Loisel led the Clifford Chance team and was supported on the financing aspects by associates Leopoldo Luyten de Alvear, Thomas Launay and Inès Elkhettar. Senior counsel Fabien Jacquemard, as well as associate Santiago Ramirez,advised on the hedging aspects. The wider team included counsel Rémy Lefebvre and associate Adrianna Gelbert on tax, and senior counsel Sophie Guilhem-Ducléon on regulatory matters.

Virellian Partners acted as financial adviser to CIC, alongside Noveo Finance as hedge adviser. A&O Shearman acted as legal adviser to the finance parties.