television operator Eastern Broadcasting,
in which it owns a controlling stake. (See
Taiwan Box)
CTBC Bank is the mandated lead arranger
and bookrunner of the transaction, which
has attracted four to six banks in limited
syndication.
The deal offers an interest margin of
125bp over Taibor, with a pre-tax interest
RATEûmOORûOFûû,ENDERSûAREûBEINGûOFFEREDû
a top-level upfront fee of 25bp.
Earlier this month, Mao Te, owned by
4AIWANESEûPROPERTYûTYCOONû#HANGû+AO
shiang, acquired a 10.8% stake in EBC from
minority shareholders, bringing its total
shareholding to 94.5%.
That helped Mao Te conclude a process
that began last August when Chang
ESTABLISHEDûTHEûINVESTMENTûlRM ûWHICHû
has mainly engaged in property
investments and trading of building
materials in Taiwan.
In November, Mao Te acquired a
ûSTAKEûINû%"#ûFROMû%ASTERNû
-EDIAû)NTERNATIONALûFORû.4BN û
and followed it up with the purchase
INû&EBRUARYûOFûAûûSTAKEûFROMû
PRIVATEûEQUITYûGIANTû#ARLYLEû'ROUPû
for NT$11.4bn.
#ARLYLEûHADûRAISEDûAû.4BNûLOANû
INû*ULYûûTOûFUNDûTHEûLEVERAGEDû
buyout. The three-tranche loan paid top-
LEVELûALL
INûPRICINGûOFûBETWEENûBPû
and 222.24bp based on initial margins of
between 190bp and 205bp over the
primary CP rate and a blended average life
of 5.57 years.
VIETNAM
BIDV EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR
US$150m LOAN
The deadline for BANK FOR INVESTMENT &
DEVELOPMENT OF VIETNAMSû53MûTHREE
YEARûBULLETûLOANûATTRACTEDûAROUNDûlVEû
lenders, with another half-dozen expected
to join.
Cathay United Bank is the mandated lead
arranger and bookrunner of the
RElNANCING ûWHICHûHASûAû53Mû
greenshoe option and offers an interest
MARGINûOFûBPûOVERû,IBOR
-,!SûJOININGûWITHû53MûORûMOREûORû
53MnMûWILLûRECEIVEûTOP
LEVELûALL
INû
PRICINGûOFûBPûORûBPûWITHûUPFRONTû
FEESûOFûBPûORûBP ûRESPECTIVELYû,EADû
arrangers joining with US$20m–$29m
EARNûALL
INûPRICINGûOFûBPûWITHûAûBPû
fee, while arrangers joining with US$15m–
MûEARNûALL
INûPRICINGûOFûBPûWITHûAû
20bp fee.
4HEû6IETNAMESEûGOVERNMENTûOWNSûAû
MAJORITYûSTAKEûINû")$6
EUROPE/MIDDLE
EAST/AFRICACZECH REPUBLIC
CZECH REPUBLIC’S EPIF CLOSES
€1.5bn LOANCzech energy infrastructure company EP
INFRASTRUCTURE (EPIF) has closed a €1.5bn
loan with a group of around 20 banks. The
facility includes several tranches with
MATURITIESûRANGINGûBETWEENûFOURûANDûlVEû
years.
The loan was 100% oversubscribed before
BANKSûCOMMITMENTSûWEREûSCALEDûBACKûANDû
WILLûBEûUSEDûTOûRElNANCEûTHEûCOMPANYSû
existing debt.
!TûTHEûBEGINNINGûOFû û%0)&SûPARENTû
company - Czech energy giant EPH - created
EPIF by carving out some of its strongest
assets including a 49 percent stake in Slovak
gas pipeline operator Eustream, which
delivers Russian natural gas via Ukraine to
the European Union and European gas to
Ukraine.
%0(ûSOLDûAûûSTAKEûINû%0)&ûINû/CTOBERû
ûTOûANûINVESTORSûGROUPûLEDûBYû-ACQUARIEû
Infrastructure.
4HEûDEBTûBEINGûRElNANCEDûINCLUDESûAûlVEû
YEARûõBNûLOANûRAISEDûBYû%0(ûWHICHûCLOSEDû
INû$ECEMBERûûVIAûARRANGERSû#ITIGROUP û
).' û3OCIETEû'ENERALEûANDû5NI#REDITûANDû
was used to fund the reorganisation of the
group.
EPIF is an energy infrastructure utility
business focused on gas transmission, gas
and power distribution, heat and power
generation and gas storage.
The company controls the Eustream gas
transmission pipeline, the largest gas
corridor for deliveries of Russian gas to
Western, Central and Southern Europe,
with principal operations in Slovak Republic
and Czech Republic.FINLAND
AHLSTROM-MUNKSJO NETS US$615m
FOR EXPERA ACQUISITION&INNISHûlBRE
BASEDûMATERIALSûlRMûAHLSTROM-
MUNKSJO HASûSECUREDûAû53MûLOANû
backing its acquisition of US-based speciality
paper producer Expera.
The acquisition will expand the
COMPANYSûPRESENCEûINû.ORTHû!MERICA û
strengthening its offering of advanced
CUSTOM
MADEûlBREûBASEDûMATERIALSûANDû
ALMOSTûTRIPLINGûTHEûCOMPANYSûNETûSALESûINû
the US.4HEûlNANCINGûCOMPRISESûAû53Mû
BRIDGE
TO
EQUITYûTHATûMATURESûONû*UNEûû
2019; a US$185m one-year bridge loan; and a
53MûlVE
YEARûTERMûLOAN
Nordea and SEB, acting as mandated lead
arrangers, underwriters and bookrunners
ONûTHEûlNANCING ûHAVEûAGREEDûTOûPROVIDEû
BACK
STOPRElNANCINGûFACILITIESûINûRELATIONûTOû
EXISTINGûlNANCING
Ahlstrom-Munksjo is planning to launch a
€150m rights issue in the fourth quarter to
PARTûlNANCEûTHEûACQUISITION
The acquisition comes after Ahlstrom-
Munksjo announced the roughly €100m
purchase of Brazilian paper mill Caieiras in
April. Banco Citibank agreed to provide
lNANCINGûFORûTHATûDEAL
!HLSTROM
-UNKSJOûHADûNETûDEBTûOFûõMû
ASûATû-ARCHûû4HEûACQUISITIONSûAREû
expected to increase that by around €475m,
ASSUMINGûTHEû53MûPURCHASEûPRICEûFORû
Expera and taking into account the rights
issue.FRANCE
ATOS BACKS SYNTEL BUY WITH DEBTFrench digital services group ATOS SE is
BACKINGûITSû53BNûACQUISITIONûOFû53
BASEDû
INFORMATIONûTECHNOLOGYûlRMû3YNTELûWITHûAû
FULLYûUNDERWRITTENûDEBTûlNANCINGûFROMûBNP
Paribas and JP Morgan.
4HEûlNANCING ûWHICHûCOMPRISESûAûMIXTUREû
of euros and US dollars and maturities, will
be used to fund the acquisition and to
RElNANCEûEXISTINGûDEBTû4HEûAVERAGEûCOSTûOFû
THEûlNANCINGûISûAROUNDû
4HEûTRANSACTIONûISûINûLINEûWITHû!TOSû
lNANCIALûPOLICYûWITHûANûENDûOFû*UNEûûPROû
FORMAûNETûLEVERAGEûRATIOûOFûBELOWûAROUNDûû
TIMESûWITHûAROUNDûõBNûOFûNETûDEBT
The combined company will target strong
deleveraging over the next two years using
ANTICIPATEDûFREEûCASHûmOWûGENERATIONûWITHû
targeted leverage of less than 0.5 times by
the end of 2020.
After the acquisition, Atos will
substantially increase headroom under its
existing 2.5 times leverage covenant at
AROUNDûõBNûINû$ECEMBERûûUPûFROMû
around €1.7bn as of June 2018.
The acquisition is expected to close by the
end of 2018.
)Nû$ECEMBERûû!TOSûBACKEDûITSûFAILEDû
õBNûBIDûFORû$UTCHûCYBERûSECURITYûlRMû
'EMALTOûWITHûANûUNDERWRITTENûlNANCINGû
from two major international banks
covering the full amount of the offer.
Atos tapped the loan market for a €1.8bn,
YEARûLOANûRElNANCINGûINû.OVEMBERû- Both extension options were
exercised.