LISEA refinancing reaches financial close
LISEA – a consortium of Vinci, CDC, Meridiam and Ardian that holds the Tours-Bordeaux high-speed rail concession in France, which still has 43 years to run – has reached financial close on the €2.195 billion ($2.53 billion) refinancing it signed on 19 December 2018.
The project had an investment cost of €7.8 billion and opened in 2017. The 32-year CDC and EIB tranches on the original financing, totalling €1.3 billion, remain in place: Allen & Overy advised CDC and De Pardieu Brocas Maffei acted for the EIB in the renegotiation. The new facility refinances the original €1.06 billion state guaranteed commercial facility and the €612 million commercial debt tranche.
Lead arranged by initial lenders Societe Generale (global coordinator), BBVA, Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and SMBC – the refinancing comprises a €1.3 billion 27-year floating-rate loan and two institutional fixed-rate bond tranches totalling €905 million.
The 27-year loan is being sold down and is priced at 150bp over Euribor, rising to 170bp after the first eight years and to 190bp after the end of year 17.
The two bond tranches are for 30-year notes priced at 140bp over mid-swaps, and 35-year at 150bp over mid-swaps. Appetite for the paper was strong and investors include Allianz, Aviva, AG Insurance, Generali, La Banque Postale AM, Meag, Rivage, Samsung Life, Schroeders and Talanx.
The advisory line-up for the deal is Rothschild and HSBC as financial advisers to the sponsor and its shareholders; Clifford Chance as sponsor legal counsel; Willkie Farr & Gallagher as lender counsel; with Linklaters acting for SNCF Reseau and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe for the government.
