Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising Phoenix Tower International, a portfolio company of Blackstone, on the €1.2bn global refinancing of its European operations in Europe.
Phoenix Tower International owns and operates a large number of telecom towers throughout Europe including France, Italy, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus.
The refinancing, which included a full corporate reorganisation of their European corporate structure, led to the simplification of the capital structure, reduced pricing, and access to incremental funds to support future growth of the group in Europe. The transaction includes sustainability objectives for the company. Freshfields previously advised Phoenix Tower International on almost all their acquisitions and financings completed in Europe since 2019.
Commenting on the transaction Dagan Kasavana, Chief Executive Officer of PTI, said: “The multi-jurisdiction loan provides PTI with the flexibility to continue to grow our business across Europe with incremental liquidity available at our disposal. The financing will allow us to strengthen our commitment to the region, as we continue to construct and invest in digital infrastructure in markets that are experiencing a rising demand for connectivity and technological upgrades. We are excited to continue to expand our presence in Europe and deliver value-add infrastructure solutions to our customers”.
Freshfields advises Phoenix Tower International on all aspects of this multi-jurisdiction refinancing from structuring to closing including book-building process and hedging strategies with a cross practice team comprised of lawyers from its Global Transactions (both finance and corporate), Tax and Antitrust practice groups. The transaction involves teams in France, England, Spain and Italy as well as StrongerTogether teams in Ireland, Malta and Cyprus.
The transaction was led by partners Fabrice Grillo and Sami Jebbour and included partner Marie Roche, counsels Thomas Jeannin and Aïleen Legré and associates Joaquim Traoré, Maha Alami and Elodie Soler, all based in Paris. French tax advice was provided by Paris partner Vincent Daniel-Mayeur, counsel Thomas Metayer and associate Edouard Laperriere. English law advice was provided by London partners Jenny Mcivor and Richard Hart, counsel Matthew Dodwell and associates Edmund Barber and Pete Ma. Spanish law advice was provided by Madrid partners Iñaki Gabilondo and Bosco Montejo, senior associate Victoria Bobo and associates Ines Colas, Carmen Delgado and Adrian Adrianov. Italian law advice was provided by Milan partner Francesco Lombardo, counsel Giuliano Marzi, senior associates Barbara Degli Esposti and Toni Marciante and associates Giulia Pagliani, Costanza Cascone and Chiara Novelli. Maltese law advice was provided by Ganado Advocates. Cypriot law advice was provided by Georgiades & Pelides LLC. Irish law advice was provided by Arthur Cox.
A&O represented Deutsche Bank AG and Natixis in their capacity as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Lead Bookrunners on the transaction together with another group of lenders led by ABN Amro Bank, ING Bank and Scotiabank. ING Bank is also acting as Sustainability Coordinator.
