Latham & Watkins Advises Axian Telecom on Successful Bond and Bank Refinancing

Latham & Watkins has advised Axian Telecom, a leading pan-African telecommunications services provider, on its successful offering of US$600 million 7.25% Senior Notes due 2030, as well as its entry into a new US$150 million term credit facility agreement and a US$50 million revolving credit facility, for the purpose of refinancing its existing senior notes due 2027 and other borrowings.

The notes offering attracted strong investor demand and was supported by anchor orders from development finance institutions British International Investment plc (BII), DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund Limited (EAAIF), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Économique S.A. (PROPARCO).

J.P. Morgan, Standard Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank acted as initial purchasers with respect to the notes offering and as mandated lead arrangers and lenders with respect to the revolving credit facility and (with the exception of J.P. Morgan) the term credit facility agreement. J.P. Morgan and Standard Bank also acted as development finance structuring agents on the notes offering. The notes were rated B+ by each of S&P and Fitch and were listed on The International Stock Exchange.

The Latham team was led by Dubai partners Nomaan Raja and Basil Al-Jafari, with associates David Hayward, Anna Van den Ackerveken, Lois Pickering, and Rehab Abdelwahab. Advice was also provided on tax matters by New York partner Bora Bozkurt, with associate Xinyun (Alice) Chen.