Linklaters advises on United Group’s comprehensive €1.7bn high yield refinancing
A cross-practice and cross-jurisdictional Linklaters team has advised the initial purchasers and lenders on the issuance by United Group of four tranches of Senior Secured and PIK notes, totalling over €1.7bn, as well as the increase and extension of its €410m revolving credit facility.
United Group is the leading telecommunications player in Southeastern Europe and is majority-owned by BC Partners, a leading alternative investment manager.
As part of the bond offerings, the company successfully tapped multiple sources of liquidity to mirror the diversity of its existing capital structure:
- Tightening pricing from the original IPTs, the company initially issued €300m 7NC3 SSNs priced at 6.750%, €650m 7NC1 FRNs priced at E+425bps/Par and €300m 5NC1 holdco PIK notes priced at 10.75%.
- Using the momentum of the significantly oversubscribed offering, the company subsequently launched a rare for the high yield market “loan-style” repricing of its €480m FRNs due 2029 and issued the same amount and maturity at E+425bps/Par.
The Linklaters high yield team was led by partners Alek Naidenov and Giacomo Reali and included senior US associates Adriana Perez Cavazos and Ken Ryan and US associates Jacobo Lombardia and Kimberly Martin. The Linklaters loans team was led by partners Chris Medley and Rohan Saha, alongside associate Shruti Subramaniam. Counsel Omer Harel and associate Reuven Rosen advised on U.S. tax matters, and the Amsterdam and Luxembourg teams were led by partners Alexander Harmse and Melinda Perera.
