Bank of China contributes to EUR 1.925 billion syndicated lending facility to SFR FTTH to finance the company's rollout of a new fiberoptic network

Project narrative

On March 29, 2019, a syndicate of nine banks -- including Bank of China -- reached financial close on a EUR 1.925 billion syndicated lending facility with SFR FTTH, a French telecommunications provider. Proceeds from the facility will be used to finance SFR's rollout of a fiberoptic network to five million homes in medium and low-density regions of France. The facility is comprised of four tranches: a 7-year EUR 1.1 billion term loan, a 7-year EUR 571 million institutional facility, a 7-year EUR 125 million guarantee facility, and a 5-year EUR 100 million VAT facility. Other lending details, including interest rates or a breakdown of the individual tranches, are unknown. A total of nine banks joined the lending syndicate. Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, RBC Capital Markets, and Natixis served as lead arrangers. Arrangers included Bank of China, NatWest, AIB, and Erste Bank.