Cable operator Seaborn Networks has stricken a financing deal with investment management firm Partners Group for the construction of the first direct subsea fibre optic cable network between New York and Sao Paulo.
Partners Group will provide all of the…
Cable operator Seaborn Networks has stricken a financing deal with investment management firm Partners Group for the construction of the first direct subsea fibre optic cable network between New York and Sao Paulo.
Partners Group will provide all of the US$230m equity financing for the US$500m project known as Seabras-1.
In March last year, the company also secured US$270m of senior secured debt financing for the project, which is due to be operational within two years.
Natixis was mandated as sole structuring bank, underwriter, lead arranger and Coface facility agent on the deal.
Works for the construction of the cable system, which is being developed by vendor Alcatel-Lucent as part of a turnkey installation agreement, started last September.
According to Seaborn, Seabras-1 will deliver high-capacity and low latency telecoms for one of the fastest-growing transoceanic routes in the world, offering point-to-point bandwidth and connectivity services between New York and Sao Paulo, with a branch landing in Fortaleza, Brazil.
The two companies plan to work together on other “independent, carrier-neutral alternative networks providing broadband capacity between nations”.
“With a number of additional projects planned, and the evident frustration of the industry with legacy approaches to subsea builds, the current environment is very conducive to our independent cable operator model,” Seaborn CEO Larry Schwartz said.
Partners Group MD and head of Americas private infrastructure Todd Bright added: “Seabras-1 is a key telecommunications infrastructure project for the Americas and will bring tangible benefits to businesses and individuals in Brazil, where it will support the government’s objective to increase its national broadband coverage, and also in neighbouring countries.”
