Portuguese quad-play operator Nos, which was created from the merger of Zon and Optimus, has sealed a €175m (US$225m) bond issued to refinance existing debt.
BNP Paribas, ING and Societe Generale acted as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for…
Portuguese quad-play operator Nos, which was created from the merger of Zon and Optimus, has sealed a €175m (US$225m) bond issued to refinance existing debt.
BNP Paribas, ING and Societe Generale acted as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the six-year private offering. Caixabank was lead arranger.
The notes mature in September 2020. They carry a floating interest rate with a spread of 215 bps, and the first coupon will be due in March 2015.
The new facility will replace an existing €100m bond placed originally by Zon and Optimus’ parent Sonaecom in September 2011. It was arranged at the time by BNP Paribas, WestLB and ING and was due to mature in March 2015.
The 2020 notes will also refinance a €25m bond issued in November 2010 in a private placement led by Banco BPI, Banco Santander Totta and BNP Paribas.
Nos said the refinancing enables it to further diversify sources of debt, while increasing the average maturity of its net financial debt to 2.5 years and further reducing the all-in average cost of debt.
Cableco Zon and wireless operator Optimus agreed to merge in January last year to create Portugal’s second biggest telco behind incumbent Portugal Telecom.
After a lengthy antitrust review, the combination received regulatory approval and the deal completed in late August 2013.
