Templars very recently advised Helios Towers Nigeria Limited (“Helios”), a leading independent telecommunications infrastructure company in connection with the issuances of a USD250 million senior unsecured notes maturing in 2019, through a fully owned Dutch finance subsidiary, Helios Towers Finance Netherlands B.V. The notes are guaranteed by Helios and another fully owned subsidiary of Helios.
The transaction which is structured to benefit from the ten-year tax exempt status of bonds issued by Nigerian corporates is the first of its kind to be issued by a company in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. The proceeds of the notes are to be applied towards refinancing existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes. The notes have been admitted to the official list and to trading on the Global Exchange Market of the Irish Stock Exchange
The Templars team was led by Chike Obianwu, Partner and head of the Finance and Capital Markets practice group, with support from Senior Associates Desmond Ogba and Temple Uchegbune and Associates Simisola Folarin, Ann Ofili and Modupe Dabiri.
The team advised alongside White and Case, who acted as international counsel to the issuer.