Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised HSBC and LGI Ventures (an affiliate of Liberty Global), as part of a wider group of investors and banks, in connection with a US$1.2billion investment in satellite operator O3b Networks Limited, a developer of a new fibre-quality, satellite-based global internet backbone for telecommunications operators and internet service providers serving the emerging markets.
The financing will see the company through to the launch of its first satellites which will provide low-latency, fibre-quality internet connectivity between developing markets and the global Internet infrastructure.
The moniker “O3b” is an abbreviation for “other three billion”, which represents the number of people who do not have access to broadband Internet.
“This ambitious project will allow high-speed broadband access to reach many emerging markets and highlights the advances that have been made in the industry over the past decade,” comments White & Case partner David Eisenberg. White & Case counsel Richard Furey adds, “O3b Networks has an innovative business plan aimed at providing affordable broadband connectivity to an underserved market of 3 billion people; the White & Case team – which consisted of attorneys in the US and Europe having corporate, finance and satellite expertise – is delighted to be a part of this important investment.”
The financing consisted of a US$510m Senior Debt Facility backed by COFACE, the French export credit agency; an additional US$115m Senior Debt Facility; a US$145m Mezzanine Facility and US$410m in equity financing, of which US$230m is new equity investment.
The White & Case team was led by London partner David Eisenberg, head of the Firm’s telecommunications practice, and Miami counsel Richard Furey, working closely with satellite specialists partner Rolf Olofsson (Brussels) and counsel Maury Mechanik (Washington DC), and associates Elizabeth Palmer (London), Emma Larson (Miami), and Jana Audrlicka (London).
