Axione Infrastructures, a French digital infrastructure public-private partnership, has launched a €189.1m (US$254.6m) bond.
Proceeds from this ‘project bond’, the first in France and Europe involving digital infrastructure, will be used to extend…
Axione Infrastructures, a French digital infrastructure public-private partnership, has launched a €189.1m (US$254.6m) bond.
Proceeds from this ‘project bond’, the first in France and Europe involving digital infrastructure, will be used to extend the rollout of fibre optics in several French departments, according to the European Investment Bank (EIB), which worked on the process.
“In support of France’s superfast broadband plan, which is ‘the government’s biggest infrastructure programme’, Axione Infrastructures is conducting the very first issue in France of ‘project bonds’, an innovative form of finance launched by the European Commission and [EIB] in 2012, the aim of which is to speed up the mobilisation of private capital for European infrastructure projects, in particular the rollout of fibre optics in sparsely populated areas,” the EIB commented.
The issue itself has been managed by Natixis, which was also sole bookrunner. Santander and Credit Agricole acted as co-arrangers.
The EIB’s involvement made the bond possible thanks to a 20% senior debt enhancement, which was particularly attractive to investors, the European bank said.
Commenting on the transaction, European commissioner for the digital agenda Neelie Kroes said: “Superfast broadband supports tremendous innovation – and can benefit from innovative financing too.”
Axione was set up as a PPP in 2008 to establish a digital infrastructure-sharing industrial platform for telecoms operators. Its shareholders are investment fund FIDEPPP, French financial organisation Caisse des Depots, Axione and Bouygues Energies & Services.
